My Little Miracle
by samcedeswannabe
Summary: "What makes you a man is not the ability to make a child, it's the courage to raise one."
1. Chapter 1

He groaned as the weight beside him in bed began to move. Perhaps if he slowed his breathing down well enough she wouldn't realise that he was actually very much awake. The smaller hand grabbed his bare shoulder and shook him gently as an attempt to rouse him from his sleep. "Daddy..." The voice whispered into his ear. He felt the small child climb over his back as if he were a mountain that she was attempting to scale, but instead of spikes and pulleys, she used her fingers and toes. He felt her weight drop in front of his chest before a chubby little finger poked his cheek. He pretended to snore loudly which caused the intruder to giggle. "Daddy, I wants some surreal please. Please daddy!" She shook his face, small hands clasping on to his cheeks and moulding them as if they were clay. "Dadddddy!" She squealed. The blonde man lifted an arm and dropped it heavily across her body, which gently knocked her back on the pillow beside his face. She giggled once again and lay there for a moment. He waited to see if maybe she had fallen asleep before one of his eyelids was almost violently opened. Sam Evans groaned and rubbed his eye as his daughter stared at him silently, giving him the stare that he had become accustomed to.

"Jeese Mira..." He sighed as his bright green eyes met dark brown ones. Her face slowly broke out into a smile, which showcased off the dimples in her cheeks. Her large brown eyes surveyed him for a moment before she turned her head to stare at the ceiling fan above them as it made its slow turn. "What kind of cereal do you want?" She didn't respond to him for a moment, so he reached out and tickled her sides. The four year old wiggled and squealed in delight. Her thick curly hair slightly popping out of the stocking cap Sam had fashioned for her to protect her hair at night. He leaned up on his side and smiled at his daughter as she rubbed her eyes. Her dark chestnut skin stretched over her cheeks as her mouth widened while she let out a loud yawn.

"Can I have fwoot loops?" She finally asked. The blonde man nodded and sat up in bed. He didn't even bother looking at the time since he already knew she had woke him up around six am in the morning. He shuffled out of bed, stood up, and slightly squatted before the little girl climbed up on his back to give her a piggy back ride to the small kitchen that they had in their apartment. "Daddy...I don't think school is ready for me." She mumbled into the back of his neck. He smiled and shook his head.

"Don't you mean, you're not ready for school?" He put her down on the floor so that she could climb up into her chair. Scratching the back of his neck, he grabbed a bowl small enough for her and poured her cereal and milk.

She pouted and shook her head, "No..it's not ready for me." Her large brown eyes widened before her lips trembled. Sam caught the signs that she was about to cry and kneeled beside her chair. The little girl rubbed her eyes on the back of her arm and did her best to stay proud. "I think we should wait a bit longer."

Sam rubbed her back, "Miracle, you have to go to school and you're going to love it there." She looked at him from the corner of her eye, "I already told everybody that you were coming and they can't wait to meet you." He wasn't lying, as a single father, he bragged about how smart his daughter was and how excited he was that she had finally turned four. It pained him to not know her actual birthday, but after taking her to the doctor when she was a baby, he had figured out that she should be around four now. Even if he was off by a few months.

"But, all the other kids are going to have mommies..." She started and then trailed off before looking at her hands.

Sam frowned and then sighed, a hint of familiar anger began to pang him. He loved Miracle as if she were truly his own and he hated the woman, whoever she was, who had left her on his doorstep that night. He hated her for giving up someone as amazing as the child before him, leaving her with a whole that he couldn't replace no matter how hard he tried. She looked at him just then and pulled him into a hug with her tiny arms. He hugged her back just as tightly and then pat her back before letting go. "You know, I thought you'd be a bit more excited with the new outfit that aunty Quinn and I bought you for today, but if you really don't want to go to school..." He stood up and gave her a pretend look of resignation, "...I guess I can give it to another little girl." Miracle looked at him in shock.

"No no, I want it. I'll be good! You'll see! I'll be the best kindiegardener ever daddy!" She shoveled the cereal in her mouth as if Sam might threaten to give that to another little girl too. If there was one thing the blonde knew, it was Miracle's love for clothes, singing, building things, and drawing. He laughed.

"You're already the best 'kindiegardener' I know." He smiled, "And I know tons." It sounded odd, but he was a teacher and he knew practically every student at the school that he worked at. The school that would soon become his daughter's. After she finished her breakfast, he got her washed up, brushed, and dressed for her first day of school ever. He hated to admit it, but he was terrified and nervous to leave her in the jungle of smelly little children who probably flung boogers at each other as a game. He set her down in front of the television and let her watch her favourite cartoon about some little girl who was a veterinarian for stuffed animals while he got ready. Or something like that. Miracle had been chasing their dog Scooter around trying to hear his heartbeat and making sure that he was healthy for the past few weeks since watching the show. Fortunately the old dog loved her enough to let her do it too. Her hair was combed up, braided, and then tied into a tight bun. Sam had done years of research on how to do his daughter's hair, even going to hair salons so that they could teach him how to properly let it grow naturally. He adjusted his dress shirt and walked into the living room. His daughter sat on the couch fixated on her television show. Scooter sat beside her, his head rested in her lap.

"Alright Mira let's go." She paused for a second before she finally slipped off of the couch and let her father help her put her coat on. Her face was still pointed towards the Television, until Sam turned it off.

"Daddy." She whined.

Sam gave her a stern look, "Mira." He whined back until the little girl giggled. He put her Doc McStuffins backpack on over her arms and stepped back to make sure she was put together. "Alright let's go." Together hand in hand they walked out of the apartment and the few blocks to school. He led her in to the kindergarten section where all the parents said goodbye to their kids. She stared wide eyed at the commotion and then up at him as if to say, 'are you really going to leave me here?' He knelt down and gave her a hug. Tears poked at the back of his eyes as he pulled away. "I'll be okay daddy." She smiled confidently, puffed out her chest, and nodded as if reassuring him. He smiled and laughed through the tears that finally fell down his face. "You have to be brave too." She grinned. He sighed and kissed her forehead before she walked off to introduce herself to some other student's hanging around. Today was definitely going to be a hard day for one of the two Evans and apparently it wasn't going to be the youngest one.

Sam was in the midst of administering a test, when his name was called over the intercom with urgency. He was being requested to go the office immediately. He flew out of the classroom, spoke to the teacher next door, asking them to watch his students, and ran down the hall. When he got to the office, Miracle sat beside her kindergarten teacher, wheezing. The older woman held the little girls hand and rubbed her back. Sam knelt in front of his daughter who seemed unable to catch her breath. "What happened?!"

"The kids were playing outside and she was running around a lot...I don't know, she just couldn't catch her breath." The teacher relayed to a panicked Sam, "I think she's asthmatic." He picked his daughter up in his arms. Her body shook and tears rolled down her face.

"I'm taking her to the hospital, please sign us out for the day." He informed the secretary before leaving the office, grabbing his things, and calling a taxi. He'd get her coat and bag the next day. Thankfully the cab driver realised the urgency and flew down all the streets, he didn't even bother charging Sam for the ride.

Her breathing had gotten a bit better but she continued to wheeze, her chest puffed out as she tried to suck in air. Due to the urgency of the situation they didn't have to wait long before they were whisked into a room. Sam held his daughters hand tightly as she fought to breathe. He was so distracted that he hadn't noticed the nurse walk in behind them. "Hello there, I'm Mercedes and I'm here to take care of this little angel today." The woman's voice sounded beside him, but Sam refused to look anywhere but at his child. "Sir, I know that you're worried, but do you mind stepping aside for a moment?" Reluctantly he did as he was told. The woman squeezed past him and placed a breathing bag on Miracle's face. She squeezed the bag attached to it until the childs breathing began to even out. "Now there we are." The nurse cooed as she rubbed Miracle's cheek. Sam stared at his daughter for a moment before his eyes finally drifted over to the nurse.

"Thank you." He finally uttered as he himself felt as if he could finally breathe. The nurse, Mercedes, smiled at him and nodded. "Is she going to be okay?"

The nurse nodded, "Oh yea, this little one's a fighter I can already tell." She grinned and looked back at Miracle. "The doctor will be in here shortly to run some tests and prescribe a puffer for her." Sam brushed his dark blonde hair back and nodded. "It'll be okay." She said more quietly this time.

He offered her a weak smile before the doctor came in to look at Miracle. "Thank you again." He offered the nurse. She smiled again, looked over at the now sleeping child, and then back at Sam before leaving the room. They did run tests to make sure she was okay and about an hour later Sam and his child were back in their apartment. Miracle felt a lot better but was tired and her chest hurt a lot. Sam put her to bed and let Scooter keep watch. He left the door open a crack so that he could hear if she called for him. Sitting down in the living room, he leaned back into the cushions and stared at the dark screen of the television. He was tired and wired all at the same time. He blinked slowly and wondered why in the hell no one had ever told him that parenthood was so damn scary. A long sigh escaped him before he fell asleep on the couch.

A/N: No idea why I chose to write this, but it was in my head! I like daddy Sam Evans and sorry that there was only a hint of Mercedes, I think I'll write another part to this soon where she'll be there more. If you read this I hope you enjoyed. Sorry for any errors. Also I have to thank H.B for helping me think of this.


	2. Chapter 2

Miracle silently rested her head against her bedroom's cool carpeted floor as she hid under her bed. She listened intently for her father's footsteps as he power walked through the house looking for her. "Miracle, you come out here right now young lady!" His voice echoed through the apartment before she watched his feet slow to a stop in front of her bedroom door. Scooter's claws clicked against the wooden floor of the hallway as he stood beside his owner panting. "Alright Scoot's, find Mira." Her father instructed the dog. The little girl held her breath and hoped that the old dog wouldn't hear her, but of course Scooter trotted up to the bed, crouched down, crawled beneath the bed and licked her face. She squealed before her father's large hand grabbed her little foot and slowly dragged her out from under the bed. Sheepishly she smiled up at him in surprise.

"Oh...hi daddy." Her father had his hands on his hips and in one hand he held on to a large toothed comb and a brush. Shaking his head, he reached down and lifted her up gently so that she stood on her feet. Se scratched the side of her head and touched the spots where her braids had once been. Sam had loosened them out for her which now left her hair as a large puff.

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Miracle Evans, how did your combs get in the garbage?" Her eyes widened for a moment before she tapped her finger against her cheek. She slowly glanced down at Scooter as if to incriminate him. The dog wagged his tail happily and looked back up at his little owner. "Don't you even think about blaming the dog. You and I both know I raised you better than that."

Miracle sighed, looked down at her feet, and wrung her hands out, "Okay...I did it."

Sam nodded, "Uh huh and why would you do that?"

The little girl glanced up at her father and pouted, "Because it hurts daddy and I don't want to comb my hair anymore because it hurts my head and then I cry and it's not nice. Sometimes I get hibbups from crying so much and my eyes start to get itchy and red." The little girl rambled on and Sam fought the urge not to smile at the way she had pronounced hiccups.

"I know Mira, but I try to go super easy on your head and I always follow what the ladies at the hair place said to me." He picked her up and held her with one arm as he walked out of the room. "I even bought a huge tub of grease to make your hair softer and stuff."

Miracle leaned her head against the side of her father's as he walked with her towards the living room. "Why can't my hair be like the other little girls at school...all straight and shiny?" He sighed before putting her down on the ground. Her tiny arms folded across her chest as she awaited his answer.

"Mira, those little girls probably go home and ask their dad's why they can't have hair like yours. They wanna know why they can't have hair that reminds them of fluffy clouds that reaches for the sky like yours does." He grabbed some pins from the kitchen table as he spoke. "Their hair just points to the ground all day long and yours can stand straight up like it never gets tired."

"But daddy..." Miracle huffed, "there's so much and it hurts. I don't wanna comb it anymore no no no." She tapped her foot on each no. Sam looked at her for a moment before he retreated down the hall and into the bathroom. She waited for him to return and when he did her mouth slightly fell open. "What's that?" She asked as she pointed at the electric shaver in his hand.

Her father held the shaver in one hand and then held the large tooth comb in the other. "I'm giving you a choice little lady." He gave her a very serious expression. "Either I don't comb your hair ever again until it gets knotted up and tangled like an old birds nest and we gotta shave it clean off your head where you end up looking like Caillou or.." He shook the comb, "You let me comb your hair right now so you can look good and presentable for church in a few hours." The little girl immediately grabbed the foot stool from the corner of the room and plopped it down in front of the couch where her father normally sat when he combed her hair. Without so much as a peep, she sat down on the stool. Sam watched it all go down with amusement before he put the shaver down and approached the couch. "Papa didn't raise no fool." He muttered under his breath as he sat behind her to do her hair.

After much crying and wincing, Miracle's hair was combed neatly into a side braid that ran along the side of her head. Sam had dressed her up in a yellow church dress that came with a little coat and a small purse for whatever little girls needed to carry. He was buckling the clasp on one of her white shoes when the knock came at the door. "Coming." He called out as he walked to the door and opened it for his next door neighbour, Ms. Jenkins. She was a heavier set woman who often hummed church songs to herself whenever she was annoyed or distracted. Sometimes Sam had to wonder if she liked him all that much, but he knew that she loved Miracle as if she were her own grandchild. "Good morning." He smiled at her. She gave him a polite smile and nodded.

"It's indeed a good morning Mr. Evans because my Father woke me up today when He didn't have to. He could've snatched me right from my sleep if He thought it was best. But no..." Sam stared at her for a moment unsure of what to say, "...He woke me up so that I could praise Him and speak forth about the Miracles He brings into my life every single day." Miracle having heard her name, bounded towards the door, flashing her dimples and shiny little teeth as she stopped.

"Good morning aunty Lucy." She said politely to the older woman.

"Well hello there princess. Are you ready to go?" Ms. Jenkins reached out a gloved hand to take Miracle's in her own. The little girl looked back at her father. Knowing the cue, he leaned down, pulled her into a tight hug, and then kissed her on the side of the head.

"I love you, be safe okay. Say a prayer for daddy." He spoke to her softly.

"I love you too and I wills." She swung her arm with the older woman's as they walked down the hall towards the elevator. Sam watched them until they stepped in. He closed the door behind him and moved to get ready to do the errands he had planned for the morning before she came back.

Miracle sat very close to Ms. Jenkins in the pew. She liked how the older woman always smelled of peppermint and flowers. Sometimes she smelled like bread if she had been baking early that morning for church. She loved when she invited her over to make cookies with her because she let Miracle eat some of the chocolate chips before they put them in.

As she listened to the service, the little girl flattened her dress down like she had seen the other ladies in church do sometimes and she was most definitely a lady.

Well currently a bored little lady.

There was a guest pastor at the church that week and the way he droned on made her want to close her eyes and nap until she would see her daddy again. She already missed him and hoped that he was doing okay without her. Sometimes he worked a lot so she would give him a hug to make him smile, even if it was just a little bit. Her mind wandered to what Dora would be doing right now, probably telling Sniper not to snipe anything... whatever that meant.

"Mira, sit up honey." The bigger woman slightly shook her awake. Miracle blinked quickly and looked around at the other people who were still staring straight ahead or down at their phones. Some of them had apparently taken naps like her as well. In fact, some of the older people were still sleeping. She sighed and decided that she didn't like this pastor. After a moment, her eyes began to get heavy again, but they immediately flew open when a loud, powerful, pretty voice boomed through the church. She couldn't really see the front because she was so small, so she bent her legs under her so that she could see a bit more.

A small gasp left her lips. She turned to Ms. Jenkins and tugged her sleeve. "I know her aunty! I know her!" She said excitedly as she stared at the woman leading the choir in the front. The older woman gave her a look and then smiled at the small child.

"Child how do you know Mercedes?"

Miracle stared at the woman singing and swayed to the music. She liked it very much and would definitely have to tell her daddy when she got home. "She took care of me when I got sick."

"Oh, yes that would make sense. She hasn't been here for a few weeks, but she's a very big part of this church and she's a lovely singer." Ms. Jenkins pat Miracle's hand and swayed with her to the music. Miracle giggled and tapped her hand against her knee. "After the service, do you want me to take you to say hi to her?" Miracle bit her lip shyly and nodded. "Okay that's what we'll do."

After Mercedes had sung, everyone had woken up as if life had been breathed into the congregation. People were much more alert and interested in what the boring old pastor had to say. Miracle was just excited to say hi to the singer later and didn't want to risk falling asleep again and missing her.

After talking to her own friends, Ms. Jenkins took Miracle up to say hi to Mercedes. They were among a large group of people who were hugging her and welcoming her back. Mercedes smiled brightly and looked around at the people. Miracle watched her before their eyes met.

Mercedes broke out into a surprised smile, "Miracle is that you?" Miracle's mouth dropped open and she looked at Ms. Jenkins in surprise. She remembered her! The little girl shyly nodded and slightly hid behind her chaperone. "Oh no don't hide." Mercedes knelt down and reached out a hand to her. Miracle slowly walked towards her and took the woman's hand, "I'm so happy to see you and you look beautiful in that dress girl."

"Thank you." Miracle finally chirped out. "You look pretty too." And she actually meant it. Sometimes Miracle said things to be nice, but she didn't always mean them, she just knew that she would get a 'you're in trouble look' from her daddy if she said something not so nice.

"Thanks hun." Mercedes squeezed her hand gently, "Is your daddy here too?" Miracle watched as her eyes looked around.

"No, daddy said that he already has his miracle and that he doesn't want to be greedy." The little girl recited what her father had told her. Mercedes burst out into amused laughter at the comment. Ms. Jenkins made a tut noise with her teeth and touched Miracle's shoulder. The little girl looked up at her and then back at Mercedes. "I have to go now."

Mercedes nodded and then stood up. She shook Miracle's hand, "Well okay, it was nice seeing you again. I hope you come back next week." Miracle nodded very quickly.

"I will!" She chirped brightly before taking Ms. Jenkins hand. She couldn't wait to tell her daddy all about the day she had.

When she got home, Sam swept her into his arms and hugged her. "Hey munchkin!"

"Hi daddy!" She beamed at him.

He plopped her down on to the couch and their dog ran over to sniff and lick her. Sam sat down beside her and picked up Scooter so that he didn't ruin her dress. "Now tell me all about church. Was Jesus there?"

The little girl laughed, "Jesus is everywhere daddy!"

Sam feigned surprise at the answer, "What?! Is he with me when daddy's cooking?"

Miracle nodded.

"Hmm is he around when I'm eating?"

She nodded again and laughed.

"Uh oh, did he see me eat all the cookies?!" Sam bit his lip nervously. Miracle jumped up.

"Daddy! Whyyyyyyy! You were s'pose to waitttt for me."

Sam pretended to look sad, "I'm sorry are you mad at me?" Miracle thought it over and shook her head no.

"That's okay daddy, just remember to wait for me next time okay?" She pat his shoulder to show that all was well.

Sam smiled, "Okay. Well good news is that I bought more cookies!" Miracle let out a small whoop and sped off towards the kitchen. Sam ran after her to make sure that she didn't run off with the cookies and lock herself in the bathroom again.

Unfortunately, the nice lady from church was pretty much forgotten as Miracle devoured two double stuff cookies alongside her dad.

A/N: Thank you for the comments, likes, and reblogs. You guys know how to make a lady feel all nice and stuff. I hope you're enjoying this mini fic and as always feedback is loved. Thanks to H.B for helping me plan this little story out, you're the best. OOO also excuse any errors. The comb situation was inspired by a vine that I saw earlier today that was adorable.


	3. Chapter 3

Mercedes Jones placed her hand on her heated cheeks as everyone in the congregation stood up and clapped for her. Loud bellows of amen rang through the church once she and the choir finished their rendition of "Here I am to worship." She sat down with the rest of the choir as their familiar pastor spoke to the captivated audience. Today's message was about forgiveness, the ability to forgive those who had wronged you in your life, and to be strong enough to love and forgive them. Her eyes clouded over as events of her past swirled around in her head. The images of dimpled cheeks, curly thick hair, and dark brown skin pulled her attention away from all that was happening around her, until she felt a slight tap on her shoulder. Everyone was looking at her. She must have missed the pastor's cue. Giving him an apologetic look she stood up with the rest of the choir and sang a song about forgiveness from the depths of her soul. Her eyes remained shut as she praised and praised, which people may have thought meant that she was deeply connecting to the song, and she was...but her closed eyes mainly hid the hot tears burning there.

Once church was over, she walked through the aisles and hugged the people who came up to speak with her. An older woman held her hands as they spoke, "How have you been baby? We've all noticed that you have missed a few Sundays here and there..." The woman was around Mercedes mom's age and even looked a bit like her. It definitely made her homesick. She smiled kindly and bit her lip.

"I'm sorry. Sometimes explaining to the hospital that I have church in the morning doesn't really seem to sway them." Her shoulders lifted in a half hearted shrug. "I sing to the patients if I'm not singing here though, so I'm still here, even when I'm really not."

The woman smiled and hugged Mercedes again, "I understand child. Well keep your head up and stay safe." She pulled away from her and disappeared amidst the other members. From the corner of her eyes, she saw someone fast approaching her. She turned to look at Ms. Jenkins and Miracle as they stopped in front of her. Her eyes immediately lit up as she looked at the little girl. There was something about her that reminded her of herself at times.

"Mercedes my older sister just had an accident at the home and I need to rush over there right now. I can't take Miracle home right now, I have to get going." The woman said slightly out of breath as she clutched Mira's hand and with the other she held her cellphone. "Can you take her with you? I know you have a car and the child doesn't know anyone else here that I would trust anyways." Mercedes smiled and nodded.

"No problem at all. Miracle do you know your daddy's number?" The little girl shyly nodded and looked up at Ms. Jenkins. "Alright then, we're all set Ms. J. You go take care of your sister. Family is important." Ms. Jenkins smiled, kissed Miracle on the forehead, and hurried out of the church, leaving Mercedes and the little girl together. Mercedes looked down at the child, who in turn was staring right back at her. "Well hi there little lady." Miracle smiled and looked down.

"My daddy calls me that too. But mostly when I do bad things." She looked back up and Mercedes couldn't help but laugh. She reached out and took Miracle's hand in her own.

"Ah, well I bet you hardly ever do bad things because you're such an amazing little girl." The older woman smiled as she led Miracle out of the church.

"No, I do them a bunch. Like one time I tried to feed Scooter some cookies because I thought cookies were okay for doggies, but daddy caught me before and told me that cookies are very bad for doggies so I never ever did it again." She said proudly. "I love my doggy and I don't want him sick." Mercedes brought the little girl to the car and helped her sit up on a few books in the back seat since she didn't have a booster chair. She was going to buckle her in when Miracle intercepted and stated, "I can do it Mercy, look!" Indeed she buckled herself in.

Mercedes giggled and placed her hands on her hips, "Ooo well I am very proud of you. Good job Miracle." The child beamed at the praise before Mercedes closed the door, walked around the car, and settled down in the driver's seat. "Alright munchkin, what's your dad's phone number?" Miracle paused for a moment and then pulled out a card from her little purse. Mercedes could only assume that the number was written on there because she quickly relayed it to Mercedes. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome, can we get McDonalds? Please?" Mercedes laughed and punched in the phone number.

"Maybe not today, but we'll see about next time." The phone rang beside her ear as Miracle thought the answer over and nodded. "It'll be my treat I won't even make you pay." Mercedes winked. The little girl giggled.

"I don't have money silly. Well, I have a penny!"

Before she could answer, a deep gruff voice came on the line, "Hello?"

Mercedes' eyes slightly widened, she hadn't remembered his voice being so deep. "Oh hi, Mr..um." She completely blanked on the last name. "Mr. Miracle's father."

"Sorry, who is this?" Well this conversation wasn't starting off all that well. She could hear a slight panic in the man's voice.

"I'm sorry, I'm Mercedes Jones and Ms. Jenkins had a family emergency and asked if I could take Miracle home. I wanted to make sure that it would be okay with, and I also need your address." There was a pause on the other end for a moment. Mercedes looked at her screen to see if she had hung up.

"Can you put Miracle of the phone please?"

"Sure no problem." Mercedes handed over her phone to the little girl who was humming in the back, "Here ya go, you're daddy wants to talk to you." Miracle took the large phone with both hands and placed it to her ear.

"Hi daddy!" She said a bit too loudly into the phone. "Yea, aunty had to go really fast because she said someone was sick...yea...Mercedes, she's a singer and makes everyone smile and clap really loud and I clap too daddy...she's really nice and always hugs me and smiles all the time..." Mercedes smiled at the description the little girl was giving. "...I'm okay daddy...yep, I promise...I don't know daddy, it's just a big car thing..."The little girl rolled her eyes, "Um Mercedes what colour is your car?" Mercedes laughed and told her, "Its black daddy...I don't know daddy, she's tall like me and has long hair and has a head... okay daddy, I love you too." She handed the phone back over to Mercedes.

"Um hello?" She inquired into the receiver.

"Hi yes, okay, please drive carefully. Here's the address." Mercedes listened carefully and was familiar with the area. "Thank you so much Mrs. Jones."

Mercedes started the engine and nodded at the phone. "No problem, we'll see you soon." With that she hung up the phone, turned to make sure that the little girl was still buckled up, and pulled out of the parking lot. It was about a 20 minute drive to the apartment building and by the time she parked her car, Miracle was passed out in the back. Mercedes cut the engine, hopped out of the car, and picked up the sleeping girl. She let her head rest on her shoulder as she wrapped her arms around her body and carried her to the front entrance. The blonde man stood at the front of the building and immediately walked over to them. "Here we go." Mercedes muttered as the blonde took the little girl into his arms more gracefully than she had done. He looked at his daughter and then over at Mercedes. A look of recognition registered in his face.

"You're the nurse." He said happily.

"I am the nurse." She laughed and smiled up at him. Their height differences were quite pronounced.

The blonde grinned, "Well I'm Sam Evans." He awkwardly reached out and they shook hands, "Would you...would you like to come up for some coffee, tea, or a juice box?" He bit his lip nervously and Mercedes stared at him in slight surprise, he was definitely quite attractive.

"Um...sure, the juice box sounds delicious." She laughed awkwardly and he simply smiled as his daughter stirred in his arms. They headed inside and he took her up to a nice two bedroom apartment that was surprisingly clean despite the fact that a small family was living there. Mercedes assumed that his partner wasn't home.

"I'm just going to put her to lie down, be right back." He kicked off his shoes and carried the sleeping child to one of the bedrooms. Mercedes watched as a small dog ran up to her wagging his tail. She reached down and pet the animal, before he ran off to the same room Sam had entered. Not knowing exactly what to do, she plopped down on to the couch in the living room and looked around the space. There were pictures of Sam and Miracle, as well as a blonde woman with two boys, and an older photo of a blonde couple with a boy and a girl. She peered at it and decided that the little boy with the bowl cut was a younger Sam. She lifted a picture that showcased a huge family and in the sea of people stood Sam with a younger Miracle sitting on his shoulders smiling.

"Family reunion a few years back." She almost dropped the picture at the sound of his voice. She looked at him and found him holding a pair of small white shoes, which he placed by the front door.

"Oh, it's very nice." She smiled and put the picture down, feeling as if she had been caught doing something bad.

He laughed, "It wasn't the best at first, very awkward to be honest. But Miracle made everyone love her so..." He didn't finish his sentence and looked towards the kitchen. Mercedes thought his words over and was a bit confused. "Would you like me to bring your juice in the living room or do you want to drink it in the kitchen?" She laughed and stood up.

"Kitchen's fine thanks." Pulling down her shirt she followed him to the surprisingly spacious kitchen and sat down. "This is a really nice apartment." She mentioned before sitting down at the kitchen table.

Sam looked around as if noticing it for the first time, "Yea, I wanted a big enough space for her to grow up in, but it isn't exactly the cheapest...but she likes it so it's good." He grabbed a fruit punch from the fridge and handed it to her, before putting on a pot of coffee for himself.

"Trust me I know, my apartment is half this size and costs an arm and a leg." She laughed and jabbed the straw into the box. Sam leaned against the counter and folded his arms as well as crossed his legs.

"Do you have any roommates or anything?" He inquired as he watched her sip the juice. She shook her head.

"Just me and a goldfish." Sam laughed and nodded. "How about you...is it just you and Miracle?" She wasn't sure if she was prying, but she hadn't seen any pictures of a woman with Sam and his daughter.

"Nope," He answered quickly before turning to get the coffee pot, "Scoots lives here too." Mercedes laughed and then admittedly wondered where Miracle's mother was or if Sam had adopted the little angel. It wasn't her place to ask, nor did she really care. "He's the dog."

Mercedes laughed, "Yea, Miracle told me all about trying to feed him cookies."

"Yea, she almost had a five minute time out that day, but when she learned that he could get sick she started crying and hugged him for half an hour." He blew on his coffee, "I think she might be a vet when she grows up, she really loves animals."

She finished off her juice box and smiled, "That's adorable. Your daughter is amazing and very smart."

Sam beamed proudly, "Yea she takes after me I think."

Mercedes laughed, "Eh, I think it might just be her own personality, but she does have your sense of humour and she kind of smiles like you do."

He looked her over for a moment, "You think so?"

The woman nodded and stared back at him, "Yea I do. Just the way she kind of half grins, half smiles...kind of like you I think."

Sam bit his lip and looked towards his daughter's room. "It's really weird, but I noticed that too." He looked back at her for a moment and they stared at each other in a comfortable silence. "Thank you."

Mercedes nodded and looked at her hands, "You're welcome." She cleared her throat and stood up, "I have to go now."

Sam stood up straight and put his mug down, "Oh."

"Yea, I have to nap before work." She chuckled and slowly made her way to the door. Sam followed behind her and opened it. "I'm like an old woman sometimes."

"Well you look good for your age then." He grinned. She laughed and rolled her eyes playfully.

"It was nice meeting you Mr. Evans." She said as she walked into the hallway. She turned to shake his hand and he held hers firmly.

"No need for Mr. Evans, just call me funky fresh." He winked and Mercedes burst out in a laugh. "Or Sam, Sam works too, or I guess Mr. Miracle's father?" He teased and Mercedes felt her face grow hot.

Her eyes squinted almost comically, "Hey now, I didn't know what else to call you."

"Uh huh."

"Well whatever your name is, it was somewhat of a pleasure."

"Ouch, somewhat?" He laughed. "I gave you a juice box and everything."

She smiled as she headed to the elevator. "It was great until about two minutes ago. I'll see you later Sam." She looked back at him, "Say bye to Miracle for me please."

He nodded, "I will." He watched as she left and closed the door behind him. He paused for a moment, shook his head, and smiled. He needed to make lunch for his daughter and himself.

A/N: woo another update and a bit more Samcedes interaction. I hope you guys enjoyed it, as always feedback is always appreciated. Thanks to H.B. for your help and for letting me pick your brain. Thank you to all the readers and thank you soooo much for the reviews, they literally give me life. Excuse any spelling errors.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam had just finished laying down a plethora of newspapers on the living room floor so that Miracle could eat her fries and nuggets without getting ketchup on the rug when his phone began to ring. He glanced at her to make sure she was okay before he answered the familiar number. "Hi Ms. Jenkins."

The older woman cleared her throat on the other line, "Hello Mr. Evans. I'm sorry to do this to you, but I'm going to be staying with my sister for the next two weeks as she recuperates from her accident, and I will not be able to take Miracle to church." Sam frowned at the news and glanced over at his daughter who was trying to keep the family dog away from her food. She would pretend to throw the fry and the gobble it up when the dog ran in the opposite direction. When Scooter came back, she'd shrug as if she didn't know where the fry had went, and then would pat the dog lovingly. "Mr. Evans did you hear me?"

He shook his head and sighed, "I understand Ms. Jenkins, I hope your sister gets better with you being around. I'll just have to take Miracle to church myself."

"There's no need for that, I already spoke to Mercedes Jones about picking up the child and she said she'd love to. So it's already taken care of, but if you don't want that then I can tell her not to worry." Sam mulled it over for a moment. He didn't know this woman and even if she seemed nice enough, you could never be too careful with your children.

He looked at his daughter and scratched the beard on his chin, "Thank you. That'll work out fine I think."

"Good, Mercedes is a wonderful young lady and she loves children so I think that she will be a perfect replacement for the time being. She will be there 7 am sharp tomorrow morning and I've already given her your buzzer number so just be ready." He was almost in awe with all that she had already done ahead of time. What if he had declined her offer?

He was going to have to get familiar with the young nurse, just to make sure she was okay to be around his daughter. "Alright, thank you Ms. Jenkins and have a good night."

"God bless Mr. Evans and please let Miracle know that I will be praying for her every day even if I don't see her." Sam grinned.

"I will." With that the pair hung up the phone. He grabbed his own plate of food and sat down on the couch behind Miracle. She was watching some show with puppets and he didn't have it in his heart to change the channel to the football game that night. "Mira." He said before chewing on a fry.

The little girl turned to look at him, revealing the sticky red ketchup all over her mouth and cheeks. He inwardly groaned. He was going to have to give her a bath tonight and in the morning. Or maybe he could skip the one in the morning. Did kids really get dirty as they slept? "Yes daddy?!" She cocked her head to the side as her chubby little hand reached behind her and latched on to a nugget.

"Ms. Jenkins sister got really hurt so she won't be able to take you to church tomorrow. But do you remember that nice nurse who took care of you?" Miracle listened to her father as she bit into the nugget, which resulted in more ketchup on her chin. She nodded slowly. "She's going to take you to church for the next two Sundays. Okay? Do you like that?"

Miracle smiled widely and nodded, "I like her daddy, she smells like flowers and sounds really pretty when she sings. And she's really nice to me." That's exactly what he had wanted to hear. He was nervous about letting his daughter go somewhere alone with a stranger, but he figured that he knew enough about her at this point to hunt her down if he needed to.

"Good. So we have to be ready for her tomorrow bright and early. Ms. Jenkins also said she's praying for you every day."

Miracle smiled, "I love Aunty Lucy. You should marry her daddy. She's not married and she bakes really yummy things and she always prays for me and gives me a mint when I'm good." Sam all but choked on his fry at his daughter's offering.

"Uh...Ms. Jenkins is like sixty years old Mira." He looked at his daughter and she stared back at him as if what he had said made no difference. "She's your grandma's age."

This seemed to resonate with the little girl who was now thoughtfully nibbling on a French fry, "Hmm, well if you marry her, she can be like a mommy to me _and_ you!" She said excitedly. Sam stared at his daughter for a moment. He loved her more than anything, but sometimes he didn't know what to make of her.

"I'll think about it okay. Now watch your puppet show with the dragons." The answer seemed to bode well with her because she immediately turned back around and watched her show.

The next morning, Sam had her all dressed up in a blue dress, with white stockings, and black shoes. Her hair had been combed into two puffs. One on each side of her head. He made sure that she was wearing her fall coat before he took her down to the front of the building where they waited for Mercedes. Miracle yawned and buried her face sleepily into Sam's shoulder. She was getting so tall already; it was almost alarming how fast she was growing up right in front of him. He didn't have much time to think it through when he saw Mercedes' car pull up in front of the building. Adjusting her on his shoulder, he walked outside with her to the car. He reached it at the same time Mercedes stepped out to greet them. "Well good morning." She beamed as she opened the back seat for Miracle. There was a booster seat all set up to be used. Sam looked over at her in slight disbelief. Mercedes noticed the look and gave a small laugh, "Well, I want her to be safe, plus it's the law, so I got one for her." Sam opened his mouth to reply, "Before you say I shouldn't have, it used to be my cousins but he doesn't need it anymore." That was exactly what he was going to say.

"Thank you Ms. Jones." He mumbled as he strapped his daughter into the booster seat, making sure that she was in there securely.

Mercedes shrugged, "No problem at all and you can call me Mercedes or Cedes like most people do." He closed the door when he was sure that Miracle would be okay. He watched her for a bit and then turned to look at Mercedes.

"I really appreciate it Mercedes. And I'll pay you gas money for taking her." He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he followed her to the driver's side.

"Don't even worry about it. Just pay me in more juice or just pay it forward some day." She laughed and sat down in the driver's seat. "She will be okay, I'm going to put her right in the front so I can keep an eye on her too." Sam nodded, but he was still nervous. It kind of came with the territory of ending up with a child suddenly, Sam had to wonder if she would be taken away in a similar fashion. Mercedes could sense the hesitation so she reached out and touched his arm, "I promise."

With that he nodded and stepped back from the car. "I believe you. Be safe okay?"

Mercedes smiled, "We will," And closed the car door. She buckled herself up and drove off with the little girl to church.

The day went off without a hitch, Miracle had a great time sitting up at the front, and when Mercedes dropped her off after, Sam invited her up to talk again. It was nice and comfortable and this time Miracle joined them to talk about how much fun kindergarten was. Mercedes couldn't stay too long because she had another shift that night, but Sam had enjoyed talking to her and learning some things about who she was as a person. The following Sunday Mercedes came again to pick up Miracle to take her to church. That morning had been a bit more hectic because Sam couldn't find her left white shoe and had to give her the black ones instead even though they didn't go well with her light green dress. Mercedes wasn't annoyed by the lateness and had actually come up to the apartment again to see if she could help, but Sam didn't want them to be late so he sent them off as fast as he could. While they were gone, he found the shoe in Miracle's toy bin. When church was over he proceeded to invite her upstairs again for a light refreshment and Mercedes accepted the offer.

This time Mercedes accepted Chamomile tea and sat on the living room couch between Scooter and Miracle who had ton's of dolls on her lap. "Woah are those all yours?" Mercedes inquired as she picked one up. Miracle nodded as she laid them all out nicely on her lap.

"Daddy buys me them and my aunty buys them, and my pop pop and mah mah buy me a million for my birthday." She fixed their dresses very nicely, "Daddy says to always take good care of our things cause not everyone had dollies like me." She looked up at Mercedes, "Last time, daddy made me pick my toys that I didn't use anymore and we gave them away to other little girls like me. Then they can have birthday dollies from Mira and daddy." She said the last part excitedly. Mercedes smiled down at the little girl in awe of how adorable she was. She handed back the doll to her to play with.

"That one's Sally, she's not very nice to the other dolls, but she tries all the time to be nice. Her best friend is Mr. Bear. But he's on a timeout." Mercedes tried to contain her laughter.

"Oh? Why is Mr. Bear in trouble?"

Miracle sighed and shook her head. "It's a long story and it all started with bed time. He didn't want to sleep so he played hide and seek with my shoes."

"Ah then yea, I guess he should be on a timeout." Mercedes sipped her tea and then placed it down on a side table. "But not for forever."

Miracle looked shocked, "I still love him so I'd never do that. He's the bestest bear in the whole world, he's just not s'pose to touch my shoes anymore." She smiled happily as she looked at her collection. Sam walked into the room with his coffee and sat on the other side of the couch.

"Is everyone okay?" The two females nodded before he turned on the television. "Who's up for a movie?"

"Can I choose daddy?" Miracle hopped up and down on her seat.

Sam tapped his chin as if in thought, "I think we should let our guest choose. What do you think?" Miracle looked at Mercedes and nodded.

"Sounds like a plan stan!" She replied having heard her dad say the phrase countless of times.

Mercedes laughed and took the remote from Sam, "Why thank you lovely people, and I don't work today so I can actually watch the whole thing with you." Sam and Miracle whooped happily at the same time. She chose a children's movie that she had wanted to see and settled back into the couch with Miracle curled up against her side and Scooter did the same. Sam glanced over at her and smiled before he turned his attention to the movie.

A few hours and two movies later, Sam glanced at his watch and noticed that it was a little bit past five pm. He rubbed his eyes before he stood up to stretch, "Woah, it's almost dinnertime."

Miracle, who had pretty much moulded her body into Mercedes' side, looked at her father. "Daddy, you said it was daddy daughter date time tonight!" She pouted already assuming that he was probably going to cancel their plans.

She was right and he had completely forgotten their ritual dinner dates that happened once a month every month. He knew that she enjoyed going out once in awhile and it was often a nice break for him from cooking dinner. He glanced down at Mercedes who was scrolling through text messages on her phone. "Maybe we should invite Mercedes to come with us too?" Upon hearing her name, she looked up from the phone and stared at the blonde man before looking down at the little girl who was practically in her lap.

"Oh, I don't want to interrupt family dinner time." She shoved her phone in her pocket.

Sam smiled, "I mean if you don't have any other plans, I'd love to have you come with us. But Miracle's the real judge here." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, "What do you think Mira, should we feed the nice lady for being pretty awesome."

Mira squealed in excitement, "Sounds like a plan Stan." She gave him a thumbs up as she used one of her father's famous phrases.

Sam shrugged and Mercedes laughed at the cuteness, "I guess judge and jury have spoken."

"Please come Mercy! Scooter can't come so I'll have no one to play with!" She tugged on Mercedes arm, which had might as well been connected to her heart strings. She definitely was a sucker for cute children.

Sam winked, "I'll make sure that she doesn't pet you or anything like that." The adults looked at each other and laughed as Miracle stared on in confusion. "It's settled then, let's go. Let me call a taxi." He pulled his phone out of his pocket when Mercedes stood up as well.

"Sam, I have a car." He paused for a moment and then nodded. "Remember?"

He laughed, "I do now." He reached his hand out for Miracle, who twirled over to her dad, "Let me just get her all freshened up and then we'll meet you downstairs?" Mercedes nodded before turning off the T.V. and headed down to her car. It didn't take too long before Sam had thrown on casual clothes on his daughter so that she would be more comfortable at dinner and less miserable in the long run.

The trio chose a nice restaurant to eat at, which had reasonable prices, but good food. The meals came quickly and the group ate until they were full. Miracle played with her spoon and fork, pretending that they were metal dolls or robots of some sort. "That was delicious." Mercedes tucked her hair behind her ear as she thought about the meal she had eaten.

"Yea, I like this place a lot." Sam smiled at her from the other side of the table. The waiter returned to wait the table.

"Would you like any desert, tea, or coffee sir?" Sam shook his head.

"No thank you, I'm stuffed." He smiled and pat his stomach enthusiastically to accentuate his point.

"Very good sir and for your wife?" He looked over at Mercedes who in turn stared back at him and then awkwardly looked at Sam.

The pair laughed awkwardly for a moment.

"That's not his wife silly!" Miracle chimed in, "They didn't have their wedding yet!" She laughed and shook her head as she continued to play with her 'dolls.'

"No desert for me!" Mercedes interjected quickly before things got anymore awkward.

Sam cleared his throat and took the fork and spoon from Miracle, setting them down on the table. "Just the bill please." The waiter nodded and walked off to retrieve the bill.

Without her play things Miracle turned her attention to the adults sitting with her, "Are you two in love?"

"No, no no." Sam laughed.

Mercedes shook her head and looked down at the table. "Noooo no we are not."

Miracle played with her place mat, "Mercy and daddy sitting in a tree...something something something something, first comes love, then comes porridge, then comes daddy with a baby cabbage."

"Mira don't you have to use the bathroom?"

Miracle smiled happily and shook her head, "No daddy."

"Are you sure, I think you should go before we leave."

Miracle gave her father an odd look, "No daddy, I'm okay." Knowing that Sam obviously wanted his daughter to stop saying embarrassing things, Mercedes piped up.

"Well I have to go to the little ladies room, do you want to come with me Miracle?" Mercedes asked as she stood up.

Miracle looked up at the nurse, "Do you need help cause I'm a great helper and I change my dollies diapers all the time." Mercedes began laughing and nodded. Miracle reached out and took Mercedes' hand before they walked over to the bathroom. Mercedes didn't actually need to go so she just washed her hands.

"Can you lift me please?" Mercedes bent down and lifted the little girl to the soap dispenser and then to the sink. "I like this bathroom, the other bathroom smells, but daddy can't go in this one, so I have to go to the boys one with him." She frowned, "It smells like Scooter when he's in the rain." Mercedes laughed at the description. "So I always make sure I never have to go."

"You're a very smart little girl." Mercedes handed her a paper towel.

Miracle smiled under the praise, "Thank you. You're smart too." They walked back out hand in hand to find Sam holding Miracle's jacket for her to put on. "Thanks daddy!" She ran over and slipped it on. She even knew how to zip it up by herself. He took her hand and they waited for Mercedes to get her things on before they left.

They all drove in silence, lost in their own thoughts, well Mira was just passed out, but the adults were thinking. Sam had a good time with Mercedes, he liked her being around, and he liked how she cared about Miracle. That was the most important thing to him. Miracle seemed to like her a lot too. Mercedes was thinking about her dating life and how weird it had been lately. She had had a date that night, but promptly cancelled it when Sam had invited her. She liked him and Mira, they were an adorable duo for sure and she felt comfortable around them. They stayed like this, lost in thought for some time until she pulled up to the building. Sam smiled and looked over at her. She looked back and bit her lip. "Thank you for coming."

She smiled, "Thanks for inviting me." Sam looked at his hands and then back up at her before letting out a long sigh and opening the door. He grabbed Miracle from the back and held her against his chest with one arm.

"You know, I don't think I have your number. What is it?" He leaned down to look at her.

Mercedes laughed, "Why do you want it? And don't you have it from when I called that time?" Sam shook his head.

"That was the house phone. Doesn't have caller ID. And I want it for..." He adjusted his sleeping child on his now aching shoulder, "...for church questions. Like who is Jonah and why does he get a whale?" He smiled and Mercedes laughed.

"Questions like those are important." She told him the number and he punched it into his cellphone. "Good night Sam."

He nodded, "Night Mercedes." He closed the door with his foot and turned to go inside the building. She smiled to herself before she drove off.

When she got home, she looked at her phone and saw no missed calls or texts. Maybe she had been too presumptuous to assume that he might have been...she shook her head. It was whatever, he was a nice man who had a lot on his plate. He was obviously not looking for someone and she was always busy with crazy shifts...definitely no time for anything serious. She glanced at her phone and saw nothing. Frustrated, she ran a bath for herself in her tub and put the phone face down on her night stand. She was hoping that it would be out of sight out of mind. At one point she thought she heard it ringing, so she ran out of the tub to look at it, only to realise that it was her imagination. Grumbling, she sunk down into the bath and let herself relax. When she finally came out, she was pruny and a bit less anxious. She ignored the phone, even when she heard the familiar chime. Slowly she got herself ready for bed and then finally turned the device over and checked the text. She bit her lip to stop herself from smiling at the text.

(Number) Hey this is Sam Evans aka funky fresh. Save this number because I'd like to stay in touch. I had an amazing time tonight and I wondered if we could do it again sometime, maybe without a little cherub singing about kissing and cabbages. Anyways, let me know. Have a good night.

Mercedes didn't even hesitate when she typed her reply.

(Mercedes) Hey, I'd love to.

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this! It's a bit longer than the others and people wanted two updates so I gave the people what they wanted lol I hope you enjoy this installment and I thank everyone for the lovely reviews, reblogs, likes, and support. As I always I have to thank H.B. for helping me plan this mini story out, I couldn't think up all of this cuteness without you. Thank you so much to my readers. You guys are the best. As always, please excuse spelling errors, I'm too impatient to get a BETA lol


	5. Chapter 5

Sam paced nervously in front of the door as he waited for her call. Quinn, his older sister, sat with Miracle in her lap, watching him walk back and forth. Her sons, who were sprawled on the floor, and Miracle were much more focused on the Disney movie that she had put on. She leaned her cheek against Miracle's forehead and held her close to her chest. Her skin was warm, but thankfully not heated enough to be a fever. Sam looked at his watch every two minutes, then he would look at his shoes, back at the door, over at Miracle, and then up towards the ceiling before he repeated the cycle. "Sam, if you don't stop doing that, you're going to fall through the floor and scare the honey badger out of your neighbours." She smirked, "Plus you're making me feel nauseous with all of that movement." He glanced at her and shrugged. He was 29 years old, had been on hundreds of dates before Miracle came into his life...perhaps date was too strong of a word to illustrate a man meeting many women at bars, spending the night with them, and then never hearing or seeing them again. Before parenthood Sam was very much the bachelor, his longest relationship had lasted two months but that was only because they worked so much and never really got to know each other until the end. What they learned, they did not like. Sighing, he walked over to the couch and sat on the arm next to his sister and Miracle.

He reached out and tugged on one of her thick braids. The little girl swatted his hand impatiently, "Daddy!" She took her braid back from him and held it possessively in her hand as she continued watching the movie with her cousins. He chuckled lightly and looked at his sister who was staring at him. They had both decided that she and the boys would stay over at Sam's that night and have breakfast in the morning before Miracle went off to church.

"What?" His eyes grew wide as his sister seemingly stared into his soul. "Why do you keep staring at me like that?"

Quinn smiled and wiggled her eyebrows, "Why are you so nervous? I've never seen you like this before and it's just...hilarious and I'm going to have to tell mom and dad everything." Sam missed the days when he could put peanut butter in between the pages of her diary, the victory of seeing her so mad was worth the firm spanking he got later from their mother. "She's a big deal kind of thing?" His sister asked quietly over Miracle's head.

Sam narrowed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. "No, I don't really know her that well, but what I know I like and she's good with Mira so...why not give it a go?" Things changed when you had a kid. Sam knew he was an attractive guy, sometimes he struggled with a few body issues, but overall he was pretty confident. So getting a woman was not the issue in his case. Getting a woman who would _fit _into his family was a whole other situation. He could recall the many cringe worthy moments when a date asked to see a picture of Miracle and then they would immediately make a face, look at him, and wonder what the whole deal was. In the back of his mind he understood the curiosity, but it still infuriated him when they would ask him if he adopted her, or if the mother was around, oh and the worst reaction was pity because they assumed that he was an idiot who didn't know he was being taken for a ride by some woman. He would immediately excuse himself to go to the bathroom and come back claiming that Miracle needed him and it was time to go home. Yet Mercedes had been different, she didn't pry, she just accepted that Sam was Miracle's father, regardless of skin colour. "I think she's nice..."

"Me too daddy." Miracle chimed in although she was still watching the television. "She gave me cookies at church last time..." Her eyes grew wide and she turned her head to look at him, "...was that okay daddy?"

Sam leaned forward and kissed her forehead, "Yea, but no more of that. If she wants, she can give you all the fruits in the world." Miracle smiled and looked back at the television just as Sam's phone rang. "Hey hi hello?!" He said nervously and loudly. He squeezed his eyes shut, cringing at his own awkwardness. Quinn's shoulders shook with her contained laughter.

"Hey Sam, I'm downstairs." Her smooth voice caressed his ear as he quickly stood up to go.

He laughed, "Well alright, I'll be down there before you can say...um, a really long and complicated word that's not coming to mind right now." He could hear the woman laugh on the other line, "Yea, I'll be there soon." He hung up and turned towards his daughter. "Alright give me a hug stinkers." She reached up and hugged him tightly around the neck. "You be good for your aunt alright."

"I'll try, but sometimes the sugar makes me crazy daddy. Real crazy." She stared at him with widened eyes and turned her head towards the television very slowly. She could be a weird one sometimes, but he still loved her. Quinn looked at him and shrugged.

"Alright then. Seeya." He hurried out of the apartment, almost tripping on his feet on his way to the elevator. When he got out, he saw her car parked in the driveway in front of the building. He told himself to play it cool, but was definitely nervous. He opened the passenger side and slid in. "Hey." He said as he buckled himself in. Once he had finished, he turned to look at her and his eyes all but fell out of his head. She looked absolutely gorgeous. "You look, wow." He laughed and took a deep breath. Mercedes adjusted the black flared out skirt bottom and smiled.

"You don't look too bad yourself." She grinned as her eyes roamed over his outfit. He was wearing a simple black sweater, topped off with a heavy black coat and dark blue jeans. They stared at each other for awhile before she cleared her throat and laughed awkwardly, "This staring thing is really cool, but I'm kind of hungry and need to know where we're heading." Sam laughed and smacked his forehead.

"Yea, wow, yea sorry. Uh, I looked up this great seafood place that we can go to, just down the way. I can give you the directions." He pulled out his cellphone.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm allergic to shellfish, I should have told you before." She grimaced.

Sam's mouth slightly dropped, "Oh man, that's really weird because Mira is too. That's why I thought I could get away with it tonight." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, well there's a Mexican restaurant right next to the place I was thinking of, can that work for you?" Mercedes nodded quickly.

"Yea let's do it." He showed her the address and she sped off down the road towards the restaurant. They were both silent for some time, both unsure of what to say to the other now that the bubbly child was not around to entertain. "So, um. How's Mira?"

Sam was staring out the window when she asked, "Oh, she's great. She's with her aunt and cousins, who are practically her brothers so, she's on cloud nine." He smiled and glanced at her.

"Aw, that's good. Is she..." She made a turn, "...an only child or?"

Sam cleared his throat, "Um...yea, her mom's dead."He averted his eyes_. _"So it's just her and me."

Mercedes slightly gasped, "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. That's horrible. Poor baby and poor you." That must have been even harder for the man to lose the woman he was with and also be left with a small child.

Sam shrugged, not caring to really discuss this. "Oh, no. Miracle was a baby, so she never knew her or anything, I mean...and I have Miracle, so no poor me." His detachment from the woman was very odd to Mercedes and brought on more questions in her mind. He just seemed so cold and she didn't think she liked that one bit. Maybe they had a tumultuous relationship, but he could at least have some emotion towards her death.

She nodded, "I see. Uh, well we're here." She pulled into a parking space and glanced over at him quickly, offering a weak smile before she got out of the car. They walked to the door silently, before Sam pulled it open for her and followed her inside. The place was dingy and not very busy.

Sam made a face, "We can go somewhere else if you want." Mercedes shook her head no, she had starved herself all day and she was hungry. The place didn't look that bad. "Okay. Well, I guess we just seat ourselves."

"Mhm.." She walked towards one of the tables and moved to pull out her chair at the same time Sam was pulling out one for her. They looked at each other awkwardly. "Oh, um..." She pushed her chair back in and sat down in the one Sam offered. She leaned back, but not before pinching Sam's fingers against the wooden seat.

"Ow." He pulled his hand up quickly and sucked on his finger.

She looked back in alarm and tried to stand up, "Oh I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

Sam nodded and gestured for her to sit down. She did as was instructed and Sam slightly giggled and sat down heavily on the side of his own chair, tilting it forward, resulting in him tumbling to the ground. Mercedes stared at him in horror before laughter erupted from her mouth as she tried to help him up. Sam took her assistance and sat properly on the chair. His face was beet red from the embarrassment. "Wow...well I guess I'm falling for you tonight." He smiled as the waiter came over.

"Are you alright sir?" Sam nodded and buried his face in his menu.

"Yea, I'm great, never been better." He stared hard at the options in front of him. "Um, can we have white wine to go with our dinners please?"

Mercedes shook her head, "Oh, no just plain old water for me. Sorry I don't drink. Plus I'm driving." Sam put the menu down, his face getting even redder. He had been trying to be suave, but that had apparently backfired. "But you go ahead."

"Oh, um okay water for me too then."

The waiter nodded, "Alright, well are you ready to order or do you need more time?"

"We need more time." Sam said just as Mercedes quickly replied, "I'm ready." They looked at each other a bit uneasy.

The waiter stared at the two adults. "I'll just come back with your waters." He turned and left leaving Mercedes and Sam in their awkward silence.

Sam cleared his throat, "I...sorry, I didn't think you knew so fast. I figured we both needed more time."

Mercedes looked at her hands and then up at him, "Oh, no it's alright. You take your time. I just usually get the same thing at Mexican restaurants, so I was prepared." She gave him a small smile and looked around. He nodded and made a selection. It took their waiter fifteen minutes to come back, which was horrible in food service time. It was also horrible for the couple who couldn't figure out what to say.

The waiter returned with their drinks, "Sorry there was an issue in the kitchen. Now what would you like?" Mercedes ordered a rice and meat plate and Sam got a few chicken tacos. The waiter nodded and walked off to get their food.

"Um, so...are you ready for church?" Sam asked as he sipped on his water.

Mercedes was drinking hers so it took her a moment to reply, "Oh, um. I guess." She laughed awkwardly. "You kind of just feel it when you go to church, you're never really prepared for it."

Sam nodded, "Ah, have you been going to this church your whole life or is it something new?"

A look crossed her face, a look that he couldn't quite place before she spoke. She spoke a bit more quietly as if reserved, "No, I...grew up in another church where my family lives, but...I needed a change from that...too many...memories of things I'd rather not relive so." She cleared her throat and drank more water. Sam stared at her with a bit of confusion, what memories was she referring to? Why would they make her leave a church? "Jeese I wonder when he's going to come back I'm seriously hungry." As if on cue, the waiter returned and brought their meals which were actually quite great. They devoured them hungrily, happy for the break of not having to speak.

Once they were done, the waiter came and cleared off their plates and refilled their drinks. "That was pretty good." Sam smiled feeling full and satisfied. Mercedes nodded in agreement and smiled back. Her stomach suddenly made a loud gurgling noise and she looked at Sam in slight embarrassment. "You okay?"

She nodded and held her stomach, "Yes, I'm..." She put her hand to her mouth and immediately got up from her seat. "Excuse me." She hurried off to the bathroom as Sam sat there, concerned with what was going on. He waited awhile as sweat began to pour down his face and into his eyes. His own stomach began to churn in discomfort.

"Oh god." He groaned as he clutched his stomach. The sound of a high pitched whistle exited from his behind as the gas build up in his stomach became overwhelming. "Oh fucking hell." He groaned as he got up from his seat and ran to the bathroom just as Mercedes exited the ladies room. Her face was sweaty and she looked absolutely weak. To top it off her skirt bottom was caught in the back of her boy shorts. "Mercedes...your skir—" He pointed to her bottom, but couldn't finish his sentence before he ran into the bathroom to claim a throne. About twenty minutes later, he exited the men's room with shaky legs and nothing left in his system.

Mercedes was doubled over on her chair, breathing heavily as she stared at the ground. She saw his feet approach and looked up at him with almost glassy eyes. "We have food poisoning." She stated in a matter of fact tone as she tried to sit up.

"Fucking shit." He growled as the waiter approached them. "Your food gave us food poisoning!" He glared at pointed at the man.

"What? Oh no sir, that couldn't have been from here, there's a bug going around so maybe..." Sam narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"A bug?! That we both suddenly JUST got?" He burped and wiped the back of his hand against his sweaty brow. "We're not paying for this meal." Both men heard a loud rumble come from Mercedes' direction and turned to stare at her. She looked up at them and immediately began to cry in embarrassment. Sam's eyes widened before he knelt beside her and rubbed her back. "Hey, hey it's okay. I farted too, right before you came out here. It's cool." Although he tried to comfort her, it simply made her cry harder.

"Please, let's just go." She stood up slowly and looked anywhere but at him. Sam held her up and looked the waiter dead in the eye.

"I'm not paying a cent for this meal." He grabbed their coats and pushed past the man. They walked slowly to the car and Sam helped her into the passenger's side. He decided that he would be the one to drive since she was obviously the sicker one between the two. He helped buckle her in as she held on to her stomach with one hand and her forehead with the other. She handed him the keys with a shaky hand and then put her hands back to their previous positions. As he drove to his place, his stomach continued to turn, and his body felt cold. Mercedes had clutched her stomach with both arms and was leaning forward in her seat. He thought he could hear her muttering under her breath. When he finally got to his place, he fought down the urge to throw up. "Hey, you want to sleep over or have me call you a cab?"

She looked at him and shook her head before she unbuckled her seatbelt and came out of the car. Sam sighed and pushed himself out of the seat. He held the door for her to get in. She gave him a quick nod and slid into the driver's seat. Her face looked wet from the sweat and he couldn't really tell, but he thought she had stopped crying. "I'm so sorry...about all of this Mercedes." She looked up at him.

"Not your fault. We'll talk later." She grabbed the handle and pulled the door shut. He stepped back as she pulled off out of the driveway.

"Dammit." He grumbled under his breath as he clutched at his stomach and made his way into the building.

The next morning, Sam was still holed up in the bathroom, but less frequently. He had been lucky to have his sister around because she was the one who got Miracle ready for church since he was unable to. When the little girl had been sent off with the neighbour, his sister and nephews said their goodbyes through the bathroom door to Sam and headed off to their own home. By the time Miracle came home from Church, Sam had been out of the bathroom for at least an hour. He was lying on the couch facing the door when she walked in. Her little cherub face was set with a very deep frown.

The blonde man stared at his daughter and she in turn stared back at him, "Hey stinks, how was your day?" He smiled tiredly. The little girl plopped down on the ground and pulled off her shoes. She placed them to the side before she walked towards her father with the same upset expression. "What's wrong?"

"Daddy..." She huffed, "...did you put Mercedes in a tower like in the fairy tells...because she didn't sing today...she wasn't there." She placed her hands on her hips.

Sam had texted the woman earlier to see if she was okay and received no reply. "No hands on hips Miracle and no I did not put her in a tower."

She dropped her hands from her sides, "Are you sure, cause people put princesses in towers all the time! I won't be mad if you did, but she needs to sing so we gotta get her out daddy."

"I promise I did not lock her up in a tower, she just got sick like daddy."

The little girl stared at him for a moment before she thrust her pinky towards him, "Pinky promise?" Sam sighed and wrapped his pinky around hers.

"Promise munchkin, now come here." He pat the space in front of him. She smiled and laid down facing him. He pulled her against his chest and gave her a hug.

"How was your wedding daddy?" She asked against his chest.

Sam sighed, after last night's date, there'd be none of that. "It was a date and uh, not the best hun."

"Why daddy? Did you burp and not say 'scuse me after?" He laughed and shook his head.

"No, it just didn't go the best. But it's okay, Mercedes still likes you and that's what matters."

Miracle nodded and stayed quiet for a moment. "You should sing to her daddy! Your voice is pretty and her voice is pretty and in all the Disney movies they sing and always fall in love and get marrieds. Like Tiana married Naveen and they sang and then Rapunzel sang to Finn and they sang and everyone is in love and marrieds." She looked up at him, "That can be you daddy! Just sing or turn her into a frog. That works too." Sam laughed which hurt his stomach a bit. But then he thought about what his daughter had said and realised that she made a lot of sense.

"Just sing to her?" He mused out loud, "That's a really good idea Mira." He smiled and began to plot for what he hoped would be a second date.

A/N: I hoped you enjoyed the chapter! It's sad what's happening to our fave otp but I still love them and will continue to write! Thanks to H.B. for helping me continue to plot the web of this story, it's going to get really good so I'm excited. Thanks to every single reader who has come into my askbox to say something kind, or liked, reblogged, followed, favorited, and reviewed. Seeing your excitement, makes me excited to write more. So as always if you have the chance to review or just say something, I always appreciate it and read every single one. Also thank you to those who told me that my story was untagged on FF! Please excuse all errors.


	6. Chapter 6

Miracle hugged one of her _Frozen_ plush dolls to her chest as she sat at the kitchen table. Her small legs swung back and forth as she watched the blonde adult set things up on the space in front of her. She just wished she could understand what he was doing with some of her toys. She cocked her head to the side as her father placed a pink cup, with what looked like apple juice in front of her, accompanied with a small yogurt before he finally sat down across from her. She stared at the two teddy bears, each sitting on a chair beside her father's. He leaned forward and clicked on her Barbie lamp which was on the corner of the table between them. She brought the cup to her lips and sipped happily on the drink while her father opened what looked to be a notepad.

His green eyes met her dark browns before he grinned at her, "Hello Miracle, how are you today?"

She smiled back at him with her little teeth and her mouth wet with the sweet juice, "Hi daddy, I'm great!"

"Good that's good to hear little one. Now..." He looked at her and she looked back at him before sliding her yogurt across the table for him to peel open. She always tried to do it herself, but sometimes it was too hard.

"Can you open that for me daddy?" Sam raised a brow and Miracle understood the expression, "Oh, pretty please." He nodded and slid the treat back over to his daughter once he had opened it and then cleared his throat.

"Now Miracle."

"Yes daddy?"

He smiled at her, "You know a lot about Mercedes right?" She nodded happily, her plump braids and clips clicking as they knocked against each other. "Do you happen to know what her favourite colour might be?"

She put a large helping of yogurt into her mouth and nodded before answering, "I said that my bestest colour was blue and she said her bestest was purple." She shrugged, "I don't really like purple but I didn't want to hurt her feelings daddy." Sam smiled and wrote down the colour in his notepad.

"Very nice of you Mira, I'm very proud of you. Okay my next question, do you know who is Mercedes' favourite singer?" This time Mira made a face and looked up to the left corner of her eyes as she thought about it. She tapped her finger against her chin, ate some more of her yogurt, and then drank some more of her apple juice as her father watched her with a raised brow. He was about to ask her again, but instead use simplistic language when the child finally spoke.

"She said she really likes Apeetha Franklin like the turtle and Ladiss nights like night time, I think she said that she really likes singing Mosttown songs. But I don't know what those are."

Sam started laughing and smiled as he took down the notes, "Uh huh I see and who is your favourite singer?" Mira's eyes lit up at the question.

"I like Barney and those commercials where the kids sing songs and Arianna Grande because she's pretty and looks like my friend Emily from school. So Arianna is like my best friend too!"

Sam nodded, "Alright, one last question! And it is a very very serious one that you have to really think about." He made a very serious expression and Miracle leaned forward in anticipation. "Who is your favourite _Frozen _character and why!?"

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped as if this was the biggest decision in her world, "I don't know daddy that's hard. Hmm, I'm gonna say Olaf because he's different and he's always happy and he's really weird but I think that's what makes him the bestest, oh and he makes funny faces like you daddy!" She laughed and Sam grinned before getting up and walking over to her side of the table to lift her into a hug. "Daddy can I watch Doc McStuffins now?"

"Of course, you did a great job." He blew a raspberry against her cheek before dropping her on to the bean bag chair he had just bought for her. She squealed in delight and scrambled up to watch the saved shows on the television. Sam took the moment of distraction to grab his phone and do some quick research. Once he found what he was looking for he scrolled through his contacts so that he could make the call he had been dreading. He sat on his bed and left the door open so he could keep an eye on his kid. Hesitantly, he dialed Mercedes' number and bit his lip as he waited for her to answer. They hadn't officially spoken since the date, but had texted once or twice over the few days.

"Hello?" Did he detect a bit of annoyance in her voice? He wasn't sure.

"Um, hey, hey Mercedes how are you?"

The woman sighed and then laughed, "Well, I've been better, but I'm okay. The lasting results of the poisoning are pretty much all gone. How about you? Feeling better?"

He smiled, it was good to hear her laugh, "Yea, my bathroom and I were one for a bit there. Poor Miracle would try to bring me cups of water, she spilled about half of it along the way, but half got here anyways so you know she's a champ. And the dog got free puddles of water to lap up." He smiled and rubbed his sweaty palm against his leg.

"That's adorable. How is she? I miss her." In her own apartment, she sat down on the side of her tub in the bathroom. She hadn't seen the little girl for awhile since she had been sick and she was surprised to notice the absence.

"She's great, just watching her shows. She's an old soul that one, been listening to some Classic country lately. Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, and some others." He looked out the door to see what she was doing and he could make out one of her outstretched arms. "Um, so...the reason I called, was to uh, okay let me level with you, our date was pretty horrendous right?"

Mercedes hesitated, "Well, it wasn't the best no. But it wasn't really your fault, things just sort of happened." Sam frowned, he had known that it was a bad date but getting confirmation still stung even if he had been expecting it.

"Right, right. So I would like to have a do-over, you know a re-do. I want to show you that we can actually have a lot of fun."

"Sam...I don't know, I think everything happens for a reason."

He stood up and began to pace around his room, "I know and I get that, trust me. But we also met for a reason at the hospital and then by sheer coincidence we meet again? I just..." He paused and stopped pacing, "I like you and Miracle thinks you're pretty great and that kid's rarely wrong." He laughed awkwardly, "If you're really dead set against it I won't push you, but I can't hang this phone up and say I didn't try."

Mercedes stood up from where she had been and plopped down on to her bed to stare at the computer screen. She had signed up to a dating site the night before and some of the messages she had already received were horrendous. She was silent for a moment, but then nodded. "Alright, I've already passed gas in front of you, so if this thing goes anywhere then we're making some impressive headway."

Sam laughed, "I agree. So how about tomorrow? Do you have a shift then?"

"No I don't but that's a Wednesday night, don't you have school the next day?" She was hoping that Sam didn't have some ulterior motives for planning a date on a 'hump day'.

Sam grinned now that he was feeling a lot more confident that she had said yes, "Yea, but I think you're worth it and I'll just give the kids tons of seat work on Thursday."

"Alright, if you're sure."

"I am, text me your address and I'll be there at eight."

"You're coming to me?"

"Yep, I'm going to pick you up."

Mercedes thought this over for a moment, "Okay, I'll see you on Wednesday Sam."

"Great, see you then Mercedes."

She smiled into the receiver, "See you." With that the two hung up. Sam tried to wipe the smile off of his face, but found it extremely difficult. He had some planning to do and not a lot of time to do it.

Mercedes sat in her living room staring at the clock. It was already 8:15pm and Sam was running late for their second date. He had texted her in advance, but it wasn't the best start to whatever they were trying to do. She adjusted her leather jacket and picked at the seams on her skin tight ripped denim jeans. In an attempt to block out the feelings of annoyance, she closed her eyes and began to hum gospel songs to herself when she felt her phone ring beside her.

"Hey Sam."

"Hey I'm in the lobby can you beam me up?" She rolled her eyes and grinned at the nerdy comment.

"Sure Scotty." She pressed the button on her phone and waited for the man to make it to her floor. Standing up, she unlocked the door and slipped on her black flats for the night. Sam had suggested that they might do a bit of walking and wanted her to be prepared. From down the hall she could hear the elevator reach her floor and waited for the knock. She began to guffaw when Sam knocked to the beat of 'Grindin by the Clipse', she waited for him to finish before she finally opened the door for him. He stood there staring at her with a grin and his arm behind his back. She looked him over and appreciated the outfit he had put together. He was wearing a black and blue plaid shirt, paired with a dark grey vest and jeans. "Hey there."

He smiled brightly at her, "I am so sorry I'm late." He brought his arm out from behind his back revealing a bouquet of purple roses. Mercedes' eyes widened and she slightly gasped at how beautiful they were. "I pre-ordered them and they somehow gave them away to someone else, so I had to wait for them to do it all over again." He handed them to her and she beamed before pulling him into a hug. She smiled against his chest and then pulled away.

"These are absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much." She shook her head and sniffed the flowers. "Let me just put these down for now." Sam nodded, delighted that she liked the flowers. She stepped into her apartment and put them on her kitchen counter before joining him at the door again.

"I'm happy you like them, a little birdie mentioned that purple was your bestest colour so I can't take all the credit." He laughed and stepped back to let her into the hallway so that she could lock the door.

"Ah, you have a very special bird then sir, treat her like she's your child." She smiled and turned to head to the elevator. He stepped in after her and nodded.

"Yea I feed her once in awhile and all that jazz." They smiled at each other and stepped out into the lobby. "So I don't currently have a car, but I do have an Uber, so if you could just step out here with me." He held the door open and stepped outside to show Mercedes the Lexus he had ordered for them. "Okay on the upside, it's a pretty car, downside I have to sit in the front. But I've been told that the back of my head is ridiculous so you can enjoy that view."

Mercedes rolled her eyes, but smiled at the dorky cuteness of it all. Sam was really sweet, which wasn't surprising, but she hadn't expected to be moved by it as much as she had been. He opened the back door for her and closed it after she was snug inside. He slid in the front seat and explained to the man that Mercedes was his hot date. The man actually recognized Mercedes from the hospital when she took care of his grandmother.

"This woman here man is an angel, if she chose to go out with you then you better do right by her you hear me. She took care of my granny and everything, hooked her up with her soaps and whatever she needed." Mercedes blushed and Sam chuckled. "This is a good woman."

"She took care of my daughter too, so trust me, I know I'm very lucky to have her go out with me tonight." He turned to look back at her and smiled. She smiled back and squeezed his shoulder. It wasn't long before they reached their destination. "Thanks man."

"No problem and young lady..." the driver turned to look at Mercedes just as Sam hopped out of the car to open the door for her, "...if this man here messes up you come find me and I will knock him straight." He grinned and Mercedes nodded.

"Thank you, but I don't think that will be a problem." She smiled and stepped out of the car. Sam took her hand to help her out and closed the door behind her. Their hands were still joined when the driver pulled away. She looked down at their hands and her date noticed.

"Sorry, is this weird? I actually took your hand by accident before, but now it just feels nice." He grinned sheepishly as he walked with her into the busy bar.

Mercedes smiled up at him and shook her head, "No, it's ...I like it." She bit her lip nervously as a server escorted them to a small table. She felt so giddy and nervous, it was kind of crazy. Sam let go of her hand to pull back her chair and then sat beside her to stare at the stage a few seats in front of them.

"Do you drink alcohol?" He asked her as he handed her one of the menus.

"Oh not really, sometimes I will, but I haven't in a few years or so. I think I'll just order lemonade." She looked over the list as she spoke.

Sam nodded and settled on a beer when the waitress came back to get their orders. "Are you okay with not eating right now? I want to take you somewhere after this, their food is amazing and I can surely say you won't be tooting around me after you eat it."

Mercedes burst into a fit of giggles, "How reassuring, but nope that's definitely okay." She looked around the bar and observed the groups of people enjoying themselves. "Is this a comedy club?" She turned to look at him. Sam sipped on his beer and smiled as the bottle stayed pressed to his lips.

"Nope, it's a Karaoke bar." Mercedes stared at him for a bit in surprise, "it's Motown themed tonight, that's why I wanted to go today instead of on the weekend." He put the bottle down and looked at her. "I was kind of hoping we could sing something together, if you're comfortable with that."

Mercedes looked around at the people who were already lining up to go on stage. "Sure, why not." She laughed, "It might actually be a lot of fun or embarrassing as hell."

Sam grinned, "Let's hope for the fun part. I feel like it'd be more embarrassing for me, I'm really rusty with my singing." Mercedes played with the strong in her cup.

"I didn't even know you could sing." She lowered her lips to chew on the tip of the straw.

The blonde laughed, "Well, yea I can, I don't know if I am the best at it, but I used to sing to Miracle all the time when she was a baby." His green eyes held hers, "It was the only thing that stopped her from crying and she used to cry a lot." He grinned, "She's amazing now, but boy was she a miserable baby for a few months." He laughed and drank some more of her beer. Mercedes could only imagine how tough raising a baby on his own must have been for the man beside her. Scratch that, she could more than imagine the situation. She pretty much knew that situation first hand. Her mind drifted away for a moment before she felt Sam's hand on top of hers. "You okay? You kind of left me there for a minute."

She smiled and pushed down the memories that she had been fighting with for four years now. "Yea, I'm great sorry. I was thinking about what we could sing together." Sam smiled back at her and nodded towards the stage.

"Well let's go up and see shall we?" He stood up and extended his elbow for her to hold. She made a small snorting laugh before she took it and followed him up to the front. There was a book on a table with a list of the songs that they had for the theme. They looked over it for about five minutes or so, with a lot of it being Mercedes asking Sam if he knew a particular song and him giving her a blank stare which resulted in them moving on to the next one.

"Come on Sam, you have to know this one." She laughed and pointed to the title. He peered over her shoulder and she could feel the warmth of his body near hers.

He laughed, "I actually do know that one, I sang it to Miracle a lot when she was a baby." Mercedes smiled at the image.

"That's cute, okay we'll do that one." They waited their turn to get on the stage. They cheered on everyone who went before them and then nervously stepped up to sing. People were mostly chatting away with each other, while others stared at the couple. "You ready?" She turned to look at him and Sam nodded as he nervously gripped the microphone in his hand.

Mercedes rubbed the side of his arm as the music began to play, he glanced at her and visibly relaxed under her touch. He stared at the audience with confidence and began singing.

_Listen, baby  
>Ain't no mountain high<br>Ain't no vally low  
>Ain't no river wide enough, baby<em>

_If you need me, call me  
>No matter where you are<br>No matter how far  
>Just call my name<br>I'll be there in a hurry  
>You don't have to worry<em>

_'Cause baby,  
>There ain't no mountain high enough<br>Ain't no valley low enough  
>Ain't no river wide enough<br>To keep me from getting to you_

_Remember the day  
>I set you free<br>I told you  
>You could always count on me<br>From that day on I made a vow  
>I'll be there when you want me<br>Some way,some how_

_'Cause baby,  
>There ain't no mountain high enough<br>Ain't no valley low enough  
>Ain't no river wide enough<br>To keep me from getting to you_

_No wind, no rain_

_My love is alive  
>Way down in my heart<br>Although we are miles apart  
>If you ever need a helping hand<br>I'll be there on the double  
>As fast as I can<em>

_Don't you know that  
>There ain't no mountain high enough<br>Ain't no valley low enough  
>Ain't no river wide enough<br>To keep me from getting to you  
><em>

When they had finished, everyone in the entire bar was clapping and cheering for them. Sam's face was beet red and Mercedes was beaming with pride. The man definitely could sing and he was great at it. They walked off the stage hand in hand, with strangers clapping them on the back. "Wow, I feel a bit nauseous." Sam laughed as his hand trembled against hers.

"Why, we were great, and your voice is really nice." She smiled up at him and he looked down at her. There was something there behind his eyes, something good, but she couldn't place it.

He squeezed their joined hands, "Thanks, you ready to get something to eat? It's just a block away from here." She nodded and they headed out of the bar to wherever Sam was taking them. They came up to a busy street lined with a few food trucks. She glanced at him and he laughed at her expression. "Trust me on this one."

"Uh huh, but you see how that turned out the last time right? When I trusted you with food it wasn't a great result." She teased him. Sam rolled his eyes.

"You can try to blame me, but I wanted to go to the seafood place, and you Miss Jones turned out to be allergic. I rest my case your honour."

Mercedes laughed, "Excuse you, where is my lawyer? I have rights okay."

Sam shook his head, "Objection!"

The short woman poked his side and giggled as they made their way to a specific truck. "Overruled!" He smiled and looked up at the menu. "So what's good here?"

"I personally love the pulled pork sandwich and sweet potato fries. So I'll get that, but you get whatever you want." Mercedes thought about it.

"That sounds delicious, I'll get the same please." He nodded and ordered them two combos with bottles of water as their drinks. Once they got their food, they sat down on a curb a little bit away from the trucks. Mercedes crossed her legs and took a bit of the sandwich. It was by far the best she had ever had. Sam stared at her face and began to laugh at her expression.

"Right? Told you it was good." Mercedes covered her mouth and laughed as he bugged her. They enjoyed their meals, talking in between bites about any and everything. "So do you see your folks a lot?"

She shook her head, "Not really, not since I got this job. I've just been kind of doing my own thing, keeping to myself."

"Wow, how old are you again?"

She smiled up at him, "Twenty four and you?"

Sam smiled, "How old do you think I am? And I know I look sixteen, but I assure you, I'm a little older than that."

"Ah, mhm, okay I'm going to guess fifty six then." She gave him a serious expression but couldn't hold it for long before she was laughing.

Sam shook his head, "I had a kindergarten student say that exact damn thing to me a few weeks ago. I had to wonder if I was looking that bad." He laughed.

Mercedes nudged her shoulder against his and he returned the gesture, "No, I'd say...twenty eight?"

"Now you're trying to flatter me, I like it." He grinned, "I'm actually twenty nine."

"I was pretty close." She turned her head and smiled at him. He turned his face to look at her as well.

"Yea, you were." His voice become a bit softer as his gaze moved across her face. She felt her cheeks grow hot and looked away.

"Where's Miracle by the way?"

Sam cleared his throat and looked at his hands, "With Ms. Jenkins." He laughed, "So I probably should head home soon and get her or else Ms. Jenkins will mutter scriptures under her breath that revolve around forgiveness and God giving her strength." Mercedes laughed because she knew exactly what Sam was talking about. He stood up first and then pulled her up to stand beside him. He called the car service again and got a new driver but a similar car. When they got to Mercedes' building, Sam asked the driver to wait and then walked her up the front steps towards the entrance.

She turned to look at him, "You have to go home so there's no need to go all the way up with me."

Sam shrugged, "Honestly, I don't mind." She smiled and shook her head.

"It's okay, I'm sure you'll be here again..." she grinned, "Hopefully sometime soon, because tonight was great." Sam beamed and scratched the back of his head.

"I'm glad. I had a great night too Mercedes." They stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments before Sam finally leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. He hadn't fully moved away from her face when Mercedes reached out and grabbed him by his sweater. She pulled him in and brought their lips together in a gentle kiss. Sam reached out and held her hips as he tried to maintain his balance. It had been a long time since he had kissed a woman properly and the fact that her lips were full and soft made it all the better. She slightly pulled her head back and their lips broke free with a slight pop.

"Wow" She whispered as they looked at each other.

Sam smiled, "Yea I am the best, so you know my kisses _would_ be amazing." He wiggled his eyebrows at her to let her know that he was kidding.

She playfully swatted his chest, "Boy you better get out of here for ruining the moment like that." She laughed and Sam leaned in to give her one last peck on the lips before walking backwards. Her heart was beating fast in her chest as he walked away.

"Night." He waved to her from the car door.

"Goodnight Sam." She smiled and waved back before entering her building. The smile hadn't left her face as she entered the elevator and played the date over in her head.

A/N: Well I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it was definitely fun to write! As always thank you so much for the follows and the likes and the reblogs and especially the comments. I always love reading them and if you have time to, please let me know what you think. Thanks so much to H.B. as Miracle would say, you're the bestest for helping me plan this.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Trigger warning in this chapter of suicide, so if that's something that could trigger you, please don't read it. I'll recap a bit of it in the next chapter so you can still understand what happened if you missed this one._

_She sat quietly on the edge of the building and stared down at the few people milling around in the early hours of the morning. She did not understand why people were even outside at four am, but she assumed that everyone had something to do. Personal demons did not rest, they didn't let you go to sleep. They were just there, all day every day, and you either dealt with them or let them control you. She was done letting hers control her, she was going to take a stand. She was going to beat them this time and she was going to do it alone. There would be no laying of hands on her body as her family prayed over her broken soul. There would be no more whispers or stolen glances her way. There would be no more pain. She would finally be free. Her hand came up and touched the soft pouch of her stomach. It was cool and still. She no longer felt the gentle flutters of her daughter's feet inside of her body. There was no more warmth. There was no more fear. There was nothing but her body, the way it had always been, the way it needed to be. She hadn't even realised that she was crying until the wind caressed the wet trails sliding down her face. It was sad. No, she was sad. She had hated so much and loved it all, but now there was nothing. No boyfriend, no baby, no family. Just her and loneliness. She was tired of being alone. It had become exhausting for her, but it was familiar. Her thick curls bounced in the wind as she closed her eyes and tilted her head up to the sky. Her dark skin masked her in the shadows of the sunless morning. _

_Jane remembered sitting in that cafe on that dark fall day, busy doing her homework, when he had walked in. A tall man, dark skinned, beautiful almond shaped eyes, clean cut, and a jaw line that could cut paper in half if you tried to. She was barely twenty years old, working her way through college, when he burst through her life like a wrecking ball. Her heart had skipped when he had sat down across from her and offered her a hello. He was older than her, much older, and that appealed to her. She could barely control the smile on her face as he discussed Aristotle, John Locke, and Confucius with her. It overwhelmed her to think that a man of such intellect, who was attractive, and had a voice as deep as the ocean, would want to speak to little old Jane. She was a church girl, a smart girl, an inspired woman, but nevertheless a plain Jane. This was the type of man her mother had warned her about. The man who would rival the devil himself. He would be the one to sweep her off her feet, with no intention of ever picking her up. He would be the one to see into her soul, eat it up, and spit it all back out. He would be the father of a daughter she would never know._

_She could remember bringing him home to meet her family. Her excitement flowing through her like a lit firework only to be extinguished upon the meeting. They hated him, while she adored him. They would cast him away to never return and she would voluntarily go with him. She couldn't understand what darkness they saw in him that she couldn't. She couldn't see past the web of lies he had so intricately sewn to keep her in his clutches. Church no longer appealed to her. College no longer held the beauty it once contained. Her life was him and his life was never hers, even if he had made her believe that it was. He bought 'them' a small apartment deep into the city, where he never slept because of apparent work obligations. Jane had quit her job at his instruction as he offered to protect her, care for, give her every and anything she would ever need. All lies of course, but Jane...Jane was blind to it all. But she would see and she would understand who the man she loved truly was when she happily announced that she was pregnant. "Get rid of it" was his reply, his voice angry and his expression cold. "No." The first time she had ever uttered that word to him in the months they had been together. He had merely looked at her, reached into his pocket, withdrew a wedding ring and slid it up his ring finger. A smile played on his lips as he shook his head and left the apartment to never return._

_His phone? Disconnected. His name? Not found. Jane was alone. She tried to take care of herself and her baby for as long as she could, but as she got bigger, she got slower, and things got harder. She lost the apartment and ended up in a shelter. Her family would never know. Every day she would walk down the streets of nice neighbourhoods and study the people who lived there. Her plan was always churning in her mind as she observed and made mental notes of what she would do._

_And then she saw them. A tall blonde man, two little boys, and a blonde woman by his side playing tag along the sidewalk in front of a very nice home. A family. A happy family. The child inside of her moved as her mother watched the interactions. It was as if she agreed with her mother's plans. Jane would watch them for weeks to make sure that this was the right choice. That they would be the right ones. And then she saw it. She saw one of the little boys fall and badly hurt his knee only to be scooped up by the blonde man and hugged tightly. Genuine love and concern. Jane had followed the blonde once to a school to discover that he was a teacher of some sort. A man of knowledge, but one who liked children. This would be the family for her child. _

_The delivery was by far the most intense pain she had ever known, she had never anticipated it feeling like that. But out came her daughter like a bat out of hell and a set of lungs that could outmatch all of the other children in the nursery. Her hair was thick and curly like her own, her cheeks were dimpled just as hers were, but her eyes were her fathers. She was beautiful. She was perfect. Jane didn't name her, she didn't feel that it was right to do so. So she registered her under her family name and kept it simple. About a day later, she and her tiny daughter left the hospital with a clean bill of health. _

_She kept her close to her heart and body all day, telling her that she loved her no matter what. That night she placed her only child in a car seat that she had bought with the last of her money, tucked in a small note, placed her on the doorstep of the family's home, kissed the curly crown of her child's head,and rang the doorbell incessantly, before dashing off into the night. She watched from the shadows of the night as the blonde man stepped outside. He knelt down, paused, and lifted the baby into his arms, cradling the newborn to his chest. "Quinn!" She heard the man yell before she darted off to say her final goodbye. Tears stung her eyes as she made her escape._

_Although it had been more than a year, she still had the key to her family home. That was one thing she refused to get rid of, even when she had left. She crept up the stairs, making sure to step over the creaky spots, and pushed open the familiar bedroom door. Her eyes immediately found the figure draped in a heavy blanket, sleeping soundly on the bed. She reached out and shook the other girl's shoulder. "Cedes wake up." She said softly to her sister, her confidante, her everything._

_Her younger sister, Mercedes, rolled over and stared up at her. "Jane?" She groaned. Her voice was hoarse with sleep. Jane smiled and crouched by the bed. "Where've you been? I missed you."_

_"I know, I'm sorry I didn't come by sooner, but I'm here now right?" Mercedes nodded and reached up to turn on the light, only to have Jane stop her. "I don't want mom and dad to know I'm here. I'll come by and see them another time." She lied. _

_Mercedes nodded and stared at how her sister crouched beside her. She instinctively reached out and touched Jane's soft stomach. A gasp left her lips. "Where's the baby Jane?"_

_Jane gave her sister a soft smile and touched her hand, "The baby's fine. I couldn't risk bringing a newborn in here, especially since mom, dad, and Malcolm didn't even know I was pregnant." She shrugged, "They'd never let me leave."_

_The younger woman nodded, this was true. It was probably best that she was the only one who knew. "What was it?"_

_Jane hesitated for a moment, "A girl." Mercedes smiled and reached out to hug her sister tightly._

_"Congratulations big sis." She laughed into the side of her neck. Jane fought the urge to cry at the embrace._

_"Thanks. Alright, well I have to go." She pulled away and stood up to her full height, "Get back to sleep."_

_Mercedes frowned, "So soon? Can't you stay? When will you bring my niece around?"_

_Jane brought her finger to her lips to quiet her, "Everything will be figured out. Now go to sleep before mom and dad have a fit." Mercedes wasn't satisfied with the answer, but she nodded an okay and slunk down into her sheets. Jane walked towards the door and opened it softly. She looked over her shoulder at her sister who was still staring at her from the bed. "I love you Cedes."_

_Mercedes smiled, "I know." She closed her eyes, "Love you too." Jane sadly smiled and made her way out of the house. She had said her final goodbye and now she was ready to take the next step._

_Here she was. It was time. She had said her goodbyes to the most important person in her life and that was enough. With a deep sigh she stood up on the ledge and looked down at the front of her shoes as they hung over the edge of the twenty storey building. It was going to be okay. Her baby was going to be okay. This was how it needed to be. She smiled to herself as a feeling of peace coursed through her body. She was free now. She closed her eyes shut and let her body fall to the depths below._

_A/N pt 2: What are your thoughts? I channeled a different way of writing to do this and I'm curious what you guys think. Thanks again to everyone reading this story thus far and supporting me as much as you have. Samantha Ware was the faceclaim I chose for Jane. Thanks to H.B. for helping me plan this story out. You're the best. Until next time my friends! Please excuse any errors._


	8. Chapter 8

Sam sat on the living room couch staring at his sister as she paced back and forth in front of him. She was holding the letter in her hands as he held the small sleeping baby in his arms. Her lips were puckered up and her tiny fingers were slightly stretched out as if she was reaching for something. Absentmindedly, the blonde man tugged the blanket she was wrapped in more tightly around her as an attempt to keep her warm. Quinn continuously mumbled to herself as she reread the words on the paper as if it was a code that needed to be decoded. Sam sighed and moved one of his hands to rub the tension out of his forehead. "Quinn, we've gone over that letter over and over again." He whispered, "There's nothing. It just say's I'm sorry. I know you will love and care for her. The end." Quinn stopped pacing for a moment and chewed on her bottom lip. He could see the anxiety and confusion on her face.

"Sam, we have to take her to the police." The blonde woman glanced over at Sam and the baby. "We don't know if she was taken from someone or from a hospital somewhere or if this is tied up in some illegal stuff." She shrugged and sat down beside her brother. "We just don't know anything."

He looked at the sleeping child in his arms and touched a finger to her chubby cheek. "I know, but we should wait and see if there's anything on the news about it. Who knows where this kid could end up? At least we know she'll be okay with us for the night." Quinn looked over at the baby and then reached her hands out to take her. Sam carefully slipped her into the woman's arms, causing the baby to coo and stir in her sleep. Quinn inhaled and smiled. Sam laughed, "That new baby smell right?" Quinn nodded with a hint of a guilty look on her face.

"She's a really beautiful baby…just look at how smooth her skin is, and her little dark curls make her look like a doll." She shook her head in disbelief, "Who would give up a baby like that?" Sam frowned and shook his head. "Fine, we'll just make sure she's okay until the morning, but we're going to need diapers, formula, wipes, some onesies, a bit of—"

Sam put his hands up, "Wait wait." He got up and ran around the kitchen of the rented home. He found a pad of paper and a pen and returned to the living room. "Okay what do we need?" Quinn repeated the original contents that she had mentioned before and added some other necessities. "Alright, got it." He ripped off the paper and stuffed it into his pocket before he got up. "I'll get everything now before the stores close for the night." He ran his fingers through his hair and closed his eyes as he tried to let the information settle.

Quinn stood up with the baby in her arms and looked at her cherubic face. "Okay, just hurry back."

Sam looked at her and then glanced towards the stairs. "Are you going to be okay with the boys and everything?" Quinn nodded.

"Yea we're a tough bunch." She gave him a sad smile, "We've gotten through harder times." Sam's face contorted with a bit of anger. His sister's ex husband was the biggest tool that he had ever met and was the reason why Sam had ended up sharing the rental house with her and his nephews so that she could save up and eventually move out. Fortunately for them, her ex had taken up with a younger woman, and had forfeited all parental rights to his children so they would never have to know what an asshole their father had been. He still had to pay child support, but he would rather do that then play house with his wife and kids. Sam couldn't understand how a man could walk away from their own four and two year old boys. Quinn touched his shoulder, "It's okay little bro. It doesn't matter now, we just have to focus on her for the time being." His anger slowly disappeared once his eyes landed on the little girl. He nodded and headed for the door to get the things. Quinn waited for a moment and then took her upstairs to her room and when she started to get fussy, she unwrapped her from the blanket. The baby immediately calmed down after that and went back to sleep. Quinn made a barricade of blankets on her bed around the newborn, before she dozed off to sleep. By the time Sam returned home, the entire household was asleep. He left the things in the kitchen, tiredly walked into the living room, and then turned on the news to see if there were any Amber Alerts for a missing baby.

Sam was rudely awoken by the sound of a crying baby mixed in with the sound of a crying toddler. "Sam!" His sister yelled from the top of the stairs. His eyes flew open and he stared at the bright television screen in the darkened living room. It was 6:25 am. Rubbing his face with his large hands, he made his way off of the couch and walked towards the stairs to look up and see his sister holding the newborn against her chest, while her two year old son wrapped his arms around her ankle. "I could use a bit of help. Pick a kid, any kid." Sam let out a short chuckle before he went up the stairs and took the baby into his arms. "I think she's hungry and her diaper needs to be changed. Jackson! Stop crying, you are going to the daycare like it or not." She spoke to the child on her leg before she pried him off and lifted him into her arms. "Connor! Time to brush your teeth, so get your lil butt into the bathroom." Her oldest child, who was ever so agreeable, skipped and hopped into the bathroom, while his mother followed him inside to get them all ready.

Sam rubbed the baby's back, but she continued to cry as he made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Aw, don't cry. Are you hungry?" Of course the baby replied with a loud screaming cry, which almost left Sam deaf in one ear. He put her down on to the table and undid her diaper to see that she had indeed used the bathroom. "Woo, sweet Jesus, all of that came out of you?!" He made a face and grabbed some wipes before cleaning her up and putting a new diaper on to her. She calmed down for about ten minutes before she was bawling again. Sam groaned and bustled around the kitchen to make her a warm bottle. He had enough experience with his nephews to have an idea of how hot things were supposed to be. When it was finished heating up, he checked the temperature of the formula, before stuffing the nipple into the baby's mouth. She remained quiet, aside from the sucking noise, as she ate. Sam took a deep breath and called into work to inform them that he had some kind of virus and would not be able to come to work for a few days. They wished him good health and he plopped down on to the couch with baby in tow, to watch the news and see if he saw anything. Quinn, bustled down the stairs with her sons once they were all ready.

"Hey, are you going to be okay?" She asked as she put her two year olds coat on. Sam looked at the baby, who was still sucking away happily. He smiled and nodded. "Alright, let me know if you see anything on the news about you know what." Connor walked over to his uncle and peered at the baby.

"Who's that?" The four year old inquired.

Sam raised a brow, "Well, she's a baby and a visitor I guess."

Connor nodded, "Can I play with her?" Sam shook his head no. "Why not Uncle Sam?"

"Because she's still very small, so she can't really play yet."

Connor thought this over, "Okay, well I wanna hold her later please."

Sam laughed, "Alright, we'll see." The answer seemed to satisfy the small child because he grinned, kissed the baby on the head, and then turned to go back to his mother.

She ruffled the little boy's hair, waved at her brother, and then left with her kids for daycare, school, and then work. Sam didn't know how she did it all and still managed to stay sane. He loved his nephews, but they could be a handful sometimes. When the baby in his arms, finished her bottle, Sam stood her up and then pressed her to his chest. He pat her back gently so she could burp, but instead the baby cried and cried. Sam groaned and tried rubbing his hand in circles but nothing helped. "Come on baby, just one little burp, you can do it." He began to hum and then eventually started singing, "And I was like baby baby baby no, like baby baby baby woah, like baby baby baby yooo…" Suddenly the little girl stopped crying and looked at him. Sam looked right back at her and then cringed the moment her long awaited burp was followed by her throwing up. "Whyyyy baby whyyy?" He sighed as he headed up the stairs to change. Today was going to be a long day.

By the time Quinn got home with the kids, Sam was in the living room, his hair was pointing in all directions and his new shirt was soiled once again. The baby was sleeping, but Sam looked like he hadn't seen a bed in years. Quinn couldn't help but laugh, "Wow, this was you in one afternoon?"

Sam gave her a death glare and got up to take the baby upstairs away from the noise his nephews were making. "Shut your face." He growled grumpily as he went up the stairs. The sound of his sister's laughter followed him. He placed the baby on the bed and changed out of his clothes. He needed a shower and badly. He walked to the top of the stairs and yelled down, "Quinn, I need a shower can you watch the baby?"

"I'll send Connor up." She called back. Moments later, his nephew walked into the room and climbed on to the bed.

Sam looked at him sternly, "I just want you to use your eyes to watch her. Don't pick her up, or roll her, or pretend she's a doll. You got me?" Connor nodded and gently rubbed the baby's back.

"Sometimes I pet Jackson like this and he falls asleep on me." The boy giggled before he laid down beside her. Sam grinned and rushed to take a quick shower. When he came back out Connor was falling asleep with his hand resting on the baby's hand. She had woken up and was staring at the little boy. Sam picked her up and placed her on his chest, before sitting on the bed, pulling his nephew up beside him so that he could nap. The baby cooed in his arms as they sat there quietly, until Quinn found the three later on for dinner.

The next few days were hectic and Sam barely had time to keep up with the news. He called into the police to see if there were any recent reports of missing babies, but they had insisted there were none. He held the little girl close to him and sang her every and all songs that he knew. Surprisingly, the music seemed to calm her down, so he kept at it. He was singing to her one afternoon when she began to cry. Sam knew it was her potty cy before he even smelled her. He rushed to get diapers only to see that they were out. "Shit." He muttered under his breath as he looked around for a solution. His eyes landed on a newspaper that was on the table. He immediately took off her diaper, cleaned her up, and then fashioned a diaper out of many pieces of paper. The baby kicked her legs out as he taped the contraption to her. He lifted her and kissed her cheeks. "That wasn't so bad huh?" He smiled as he held her out in front of him to look her over. She stuffed her fist in her mouth and gummily chewed on it. Sam laughed and kissed the top of her nose. The washcloth that he had stuffed in her 'diaper' stuck out from the sides. He laid her down on to the table to fix it, when he finally noticed the face of a woman who looked incredibly familiar smiling up at him from the newspaper that was still open on the table.

He looked at the baby's face and then back at the picture of the beautiful black woman with the wild curly hair and dimpled cheeks. His eyes scanned the paper for a brief moment, before he shut them tightly. _Suicide. Building._ That's all he needed to know. The rest was unimportant. His mind went back to the days during the summer where he saw that very same woman. She was always slowly walking down the street, looking at him and his nephews as they played outside. He had never thought much about it until the day their eyes met and he finally was able to get a good look at her and her protruding belly. Why hadn't he thought of her before? The baby made some gurgling sounds, which brought his attention back to her. He lifted her up and kissed the side of her head. "You're my little miracle, you know that?" He whispered before picking up his cellphone and dialed his sister's number.

Her phone rang for a bit before she answered, "Hey what's up? Everything okay?" She sounded nervous.

"Yea," Sam cleared his throat and looked up at the ceiling as his mind processed the information he needed to tell her. "Her mom's dead." There was a long silence between the siblings.

"Oh…man." She finally answered, her voice was low and solemn. "What do we do?"

Sam sat down on the kitchen chair and looked down at the child, who was now suddenly fascinated with her toes. "I want to raise her. That woman chose us to keep her, so there must have been a reason."

"Sam what if she has a family out there?" He paused and thought for a moment.

"Then why weren't they her first choice? Who knows how messed up that family must be for her to entrust her baby to people she didn't even know. I mean, it's selfish what she did, but it must have been for a reason."

Quinn was silent for a moment. "You have to work Sam."

"Yea, I know…I'm going to call mom and see if she can come down and help. She can take of Jackson too, so that will help you save some money."

His sister sighed, "What about if she gets sick or if people start asking questions. And we both know they will." Sam hadn't thought of that. He paused for a long time. "Sam?"

"Yea, are you still close friends with Mike Chang? The Lawyer?" He suddenly blurted out. They had all grown up together, so Mike knew Sam very well.

"Yea of course, why?"

"I'm going to need his help, he can get me all the paper work I need for her." He had set his mind on it. He placed his pointer finger against her hand and she held it firmly before trying to put it in her mouth. He smiled.

Quinn bit her lip on the other end, "Sam, this is a big responsibility. Only last week I was yelling at you for bringing some naked woman home. You can't become a father overnight. Even if your intentions are good."

"I know, but she needs me. And I'm going to step it up. I don't have to do this, I get it." He looked down at the baby who slowly looked at him. "I want to raise her and I will."

Quinn sighed, she didn't know how this would end and she didn't want her baby brother getting hurt or worse, in trouble. "Alright, I'll call Mike today and we'll see what we can do."

Sam smiled, "Thanks Q."

"Yea, no problem. Just remember, if you get in trouble, or someone comes looking for her then it's all on you okay?" She had two sons to protect. She loved her brother, but her children came first.

"I promise, I'll take the fall." He nodded although she couldn't see him. The baby began to drift off in his arm. "I have to go. We'll talk later."

"Alright. Seeya." With that the siblings hung up the phone and Sam placed the infant on his chest. He walked to the living room, and lay down on the couch, with his soon to be daughter. He thought about her mother and couldn't understand how someone could leave a baby alone in the world. He was angry for the baby in his arms. Yet regardless of how he felt about the woman, she had trusted her child to him, and he was going to do his very best by her.

Mercedes sat at the front of her family church beside her parents and her younger brother. She stared at the same picture that a blonde man, a few city's away, had seen the day before. The young woman's eyes were sore and rimmed with red as she fought the fresh tears pushing at the back of them. Her hands were clenched into fists from the anger that boiled from deep within her. A firm hand suddenly covered hers, forcing her to look into the eyes of her mother. She found no tears there and she wasn't surprised. Her mother had always been the kind of person who refused to show a sign of weakness in front of others, even at her own daughter's funeral. Mercedes wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and sat up straight to mimic her mother's behaviour. Her father on the other hand was a complete mess. He loved all of his children, but Jane had been his first born, his little princess. When she had left the church and their family, a part of him had slightly closed down. He hadn't been as jolly as he used to be. But now, with her death, he was a mess. Her eyes wandered over to her brother who had his head in his hands. He was doubled over and his body shook with all of the tears he had been fighting for days to control. But now seeing that his big sister was in the closed casket in front of him, he had been broken by the sight of it. She rubbed his back but all it seemed to do was make him recoil even more from her, or maybe it was from the situation.

"Jane will forever be missed in this community and even though she left us for some time, she will always be a part of this church." The pastor finished off his sermon. He cleared his throat, "Now, if we could please have Jane's younger sister Mercedes come up and say a few words." Mercedes ground her teeth and slowly stood up to walk in front of her sister's coffin. The pastor stood beside her in case she fainted or broke down. She took the microphone and stared out at the hundreds of people in front of her.

"Jane is….Jane was an amazing, loving, caring person." She spoke quietly as the tears fell down her cheeks. "She would do anything for anybody who asked, no hesitation whatsoever." She sniffed. "My sister was my best friend and because we were so close in age, it sometimes seemed like we were twins. We'd do everything together. We made fun of each other all the time, we could always make each other laugh, and we had some fights that I'll never forget….but my sister was still my best friend no matter what and with her death I feel like a piece of me has died as well." She wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her black dress, "I will never understand why she didn't tell me it had gotten so bad, why she couldn't tell me that she felt so alone, or sad enough to even think of doing this…..we told each other everything, so it just…it just doesn't make any sense. And I'll never understand why my sister couldn't have told me the thing that could have helped me save her life." Mercedes started to shake and looked at the picture of her sister. Thoughts of the night she had last seen her went through her mind. She thought of the baby girl her sister had delivered and fresh new tears fell for the unknown infant. The baby was more than likely dead at the hands of her own mother. Knowing her sister, it was probably a non painful quick death, but she grieved for the baby that no one would ever know. "Why couldn't you let me save you?" She whispered as she stared at the smiling face, "I'll always love my sister." She looked at the people in front of her, _but I'll never forgive her._ She handed the microphone back to the pastor and then walked to sit beside her family. Her mother placed an arm around her shoulders and kissed the side of her head. She cried against her mother's side as the anger and hurt continued to course through her. Yes, the older woman could seem cold, but Mercedes knew that her mother loved her children more than her own life. She just wished her sister could have been the same way.

A/N: Hey guys so this was another flashback chapter just to get some things figured out here and there. The next chapter will be after the date between Sam and Mercedes, and of course our feisty little Miracle will be there as well. Thanks everyone for the reviews and the support, you know that I love every bit and I am very grateful. Please let me know what you think is going to happen moving forward :) and if you have time I'd love to see what your thoughts are. Thank you sooooo much to H.B. for helping me write this. You're the best.

Mercedes mother: Viola Davis

Mercedes father: Blair Underwood

Mercedes brother: Tristan Wilds


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